Poems Paired with ‘Silent Spring’: Recitation and Conversation

How can poetry inspire us to reflect on environmental damage and ecological wonder, and possibly even help us think and live more sustainably? Join us for a literary salon, as we read aloud and discuss excerpts from Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring along with short poems by Blake, Clare, Milton, Keats, and others.

The event retraces the beginnings of ecocriticism in Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. Not only was the book title inspired by Keats’s ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’, but Carson’s style also tapped into the literary repertoire of nature poems to spread ecological messages. The pairing with selected poems showcases the literary entanglement of Carson’s foundational scientific publication on an intuitive level. We invite the audience to respond and reflect in between readings.

All are welcome to listen and share their thoughts. No prior preparation is necessary. We hope to see you there!

Paired readings include:

‘A Fable of Tomorrow’ from Silent Spring
Excerpt from John Milton: Paradise Lost

‘The Elixirs of Death’(Excerpt from Silent Spring)
William Blake: ‘The Chimney Sweep – Songs of Innocence’

‘Surface Waters and Underground Seas’ (Excerpt from Silent Spring)
Excerpt from Samuel Taylor Coleridge: ‘The Ancient Mariner’

‘Realms of the Soil’ (Excerpt from Silent Spring)
John Clare: ‘The Lament of Swordy Well’

‘Earth’s Green Mantle’ (Excerpt from Silent Spring)
Toru Dutt: ‘À Mon Père’

‘And No Birds Sing’ (Excerpt from Silent Spring)
Excerpt from John Keats: ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’, ‘The Poetry of Earth is Never Dead’

‘Rivers of Death’ (Excerpt from Silent Spring)
Excerpt from T. S. Eliot: The Waste Land

‘The Other Road’ (Excerpt from Silent Spring)
Robert Frost: ‘The Road Not Taken’

Participants:

Barbara Barrow (Associate Professor)

Monika Class (Associate Professor)

Cian Duffy (Professor)

Jorunn Joiner (Doctoral Candidate)

Lene Nordum (Associate Professor)

John Öwre (Doctoral Candidate)

Hannah Persson (Doctoral Candidate)

Ellen Turner (Senior Lecturer)

The event is organised by members of English studies at the Centre for Languages and Literature, which is part of the Joint Faculties of Humanities and Theology, Lund University. 

This event is part of Sustainability Week 2023, 17-22 April, an annual event organised in collaboration between Lund University and Lund Municipality. This year, over 60 lectures, guided tours, exhibitions, and more are arranged.
For more information about the programme, visit hallbarhet.lu.se