Wilfried Hou Je Bek's Page

That it be literature –– that is, nature literature. Know who’s who and what’s what in the ecosystem, even if this aspect is barely visible in the writing.That it be grounded in a place –– thus, place literature: informed about local specifics on both ecological-biotic and sociopolitical levels. And informed about history (social history and environmental history), even if this is not obvious in the poem.That is use Coyote as a totem –– the trickster, always open, shape shifting, providing the…See More

Talk about the collapse and apocalyps tends to be gloomy, but listen to Willian James writing in 1906 about the Frisco Earthquake and you know that the 'crash' might actually give us all a 'cheerful' face :I went through the city again eight days later. The fire was out, and about a quarter of the area stood unconsumed. Intact skyscrapers dominated the smoking level majestically and superbly--they and a few walls…See More

No idea if this is of relevance but here is my braindump on what Dark Mountain as a poetic project could do.The 'post-environmentalist' Dark-Mountain manifesto contains at its heart an appeal for 'uncivilised writing'; to quote the crucial two paragraphs: “Uncivilised writing is writing which attempts to stand outside the human bubble and see us as we are: highly evolved apes with an array of talents and abilities which we are unleashing without sufficient thought, control, compassion or…See More