Beyond representation? A material-ecocritical reading of Derek Mahon’s “eco-poetry”
This article reads Derek Mahon’s latest collection of poems, Against the Clock (2018) through a theoretical framework inspired by flat ontologies, notably agential realism and object-oriented ontology. Critics of the Irish poet have noted a turn towards greater environmental awareness since the publ...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Laboratoire d’Etudes et de Recherches sur le Monde Anglophone (LERMA)
2021-05-01
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| Series: | E-REA |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/erea/12213 |
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| author | Catherine CONAN |
| author_facet | Catherine CONAN |
| author_sort | Catherine CONAN |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article reads Derek Mahon’s latest collection of poems, Against the Clock (2018) through a theoretical framework inspired by flat ontologies, notably agential realism and object-oriented ontology. Critics of the Irish poet have noted a turn towards greater environmental awareness since the publication of Harbour Lights (2005). This is evidenced notably by his poetic representation of various ecological crises, local or global, as well as references to key figures of the environmental movement such as Rachel Carson or Naomi Klein, so that Mahon has been dubbed an “eco-poet”. The appellation suggests that ecopoetry is endowed with actual effectiveness in the material world by acting upon its readers’ minds. I offer a critical analysis of such claims in the specific case of Mahon’s poetry by gathering environmental emergency, poems and readers on the same ontological plane as objects. This makes it possible to study their interobjective relations without isolating the speaking and representing mind from the represented endangered world. Crucial to this discussion is an examination of metaphor, which beyond representation generates a sensory engagement with the material reality described in the poems. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-210350e25c4347dd8a6a466b53521d93 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1638-1718 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
| publisher | Laboratoire d’Etudes et de Recherches sur le Monde Anglophone (LERMA) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | E-REA |
| spelling | doaj-art-210350e25c4347dd8a6a466b53521d932025-01-09T12:54:58ZengLaboratoire d’Etudes et de Recherches sur le Monde Anglophone (LERMA)E-REA1638-17182021-05-0118210.4000/erea.12213Beyond representation? A material-ecocritical reading of Derek Mahon’s “eco-poetry”Catherine CONANThis article reads Derek Mahon’s latest collection of poems, Against the Clock (2018) through a theoretical framework inspired by flat ontologies, notably agential realism and object-oriented ontology. Critics of the Irish poet have noted a turn towards greater environmental awareness since the publication of Harbour Lights (2005). This is evidenced notably by his poetic representation of various ecological crises, local or global, as well as references to key figures of the environmental movement such as Rachel Carson or Naomi Klein, so that Mahon has been dubbed an “eco-poet”. The appellation suggests that ecopoetry is endowed with actual effectiveness in the material world by acting upon its readers’ minds. I offer a critical analysis of such claims in the specific case of Mahon’s poetry by gathering environmental emergency, poems and readers on the same ontological plane as objects. This makes it possible to study their interobjective relations without isolating the speaking and representing mind from the represented endangered world. Crucial to this discussion is an examination of metaphor, which beyond representation generates a sensory engagement with the material reality described in the poems.https://journals.openedition.org/erea/12213Derek Mahonecopoetrymaterial ecocriticismnew materialismsobject-oriented ontologyagential realism |
| spellingShingle | Catherine CONAN Beyond representation? A material-ecocritical reading of Derek Mahon’s “eco-poetry” E-REA Derek Mahon ecopoetry material ecocriticism new materialisms object-oriented ontology agential realism |
| title | Beyond representation? A material-ecocritical reading of Derek Mahon’s “eco-poetry” |
| title_full | Beyond representation? A material-ecocritical reading of Derek Mahon’s “eco-poetry” |
| title_fullStr | Beyond representation? A material-ecocritical reading of Derek Mahon’s “eco-poetry” |
| title_full_unstemmed | Beyond representation? A material-ecocritical reading of Derek Mahon’s “eco-poetry” |
| title_short | Beyond representation? A material-ecocritical reading of Derek Mahon’s “eco-poetry” |
| title_sort | beyond representation a material ecocritical reading of derek mahon s eco poetry |
| topic | Derek Mahon ecopoetry material ecocriticism new materialisms object-oriented ontology agential realism |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/erea/12213 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT catherineconan beyondrepresentationamaterialecocriticalreadingofderekmahonsecopoetry |