Snyder, Gary (Vol. 1) | Snyder, Gary 1930–
Snyder, Gary 1930–
An American poet in the Beat-Buddhist tradition, Snyder is the author of Riprap and Six Sections from Mountains and Rivers without End. (See also Contemporary Authors, Vols. 17-18.)
[Snyder] has become a legend for several reasons: first, he is not merely interested in Buddhism but has studied Japanese and Chinese so thoroughly that he is fluent in conversational Japanese and translates easily from both languages. When he taught freshman English at Berkeley for a year, he was vaguely troubled by the problem of fitting Andrew Marvell's "The Garden" into the history of Chinese poetry. The western world with its dualisms and antinomies he has made alien to himself. His knowledge of Zen Buddhism is not that of a dilettante but, insofar as this is possible for an occidental, of an adept…. Second, he is skilled in the use of his hands. If he were put down in the most remote wilderness with only a pocket knife, he...
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