COMMUNITY, CULTURE, NATURE: NORTHERN BC WOMEN’S ECOPOETRY. by Jacqueline J. Hoekstra B.A./M.A., University of Northern British Columbia, 2000 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the Department of ENGLISH ©Jacqueline J. Hoekstra 2010 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Spring 2010 All rights reserved. However, in accordance with the Copyright Act of Canada, this work may be reproduced, without authorization, under the conditions for Fair Dealing. Therefore, limited reproduction of this work for the purposes of private study, research, criticism, review and news reporting is likely to be in accordance with the law particularly if cited appropriately. Approval Name: Jacqueline J. Hoekstra Degree: Doctor of Philosophy (English) Title of Thesis: Community, culture, nature: Northern BC Women’s Ecopoetry. Examining Committee: Chair: ______________________ Dr. Carolyn Lesjak Associate Professor and Graduate Chair _______________________ Dr. Sophie McCall Senior Supervisor Assistant Professor of English _______________________ Dr. Carole Gerson Professor of English _______________________ Dr. Steve Collis Associate Professor of English ________________________ Dr. Lara Campbell Internal examiner Assistant Professor of Women’s Studies ________________________ Dr. Rob Budde External Examiner Professor of English UNBC Date Defended/ Approved: April 9th, 2010 ii Declaration of Partial Copyright Licence The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. The author has further granted permission to Simon Fraser University to keep or make a digital copy for use in its circulating collection (currently available to the public at the “Institutional Repository” link of the SFU Library website <www.lib.sfu.ca> at: <http://ir.lib.sfu.ca/handle/1892/112>) and, without changing the content, to translate the thesis/project or extended essays, if technically possible, to any medium or format for the purpose of preservation of the digital work. The author has further agreed that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by either the author or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission. Permission for public performance, or limited permission for private scholarly use, of any multimedia materials forming part of this work, may have been granted by the author. This information may be found on the separately catalogued multimedia material and in the signed Partial Copyright Licence. While licensing SFU to permit the above uses, the author retains copyright in the thesis, project or extended essays, including the right to change the work for subsequent purposes, including editing and publishing the work in whole or in part, and licensing other parties, as the author may desire. The original Partial Copyright Licence attesting to these terms, and signed by this author, may be found in the original bound copy of this work, retained in the Simon Fraser University Archive. Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, BC, Canada Last revision: Spring 09 Abstract Community, culture, nature: Northern BC Women's Ecopoetry examines an approach of bioregionalist co-habitation, including sustainability as a keynote and the understanding that community includes human and non-human beings. I discuss the poetry of women nature poets based in Northern British Columbia: Donna Kane, Si Transken, Gillian Wigmore, Dani Pigeau, Heather Harris, Sheila Peters, and Joan Conway. My thesis is that bioregionalist co-habitation, as explored by these Northern British Columbian women poets, challenges embedded Judeo-Christian ideology which asserts humankind’s dominion over the natural world, and supposes that humans are superior to and separate from flora, fauna, and landforms. Ecocriticism has many theories and modes. One predominant mode asserts “all that is green is good” while “all culture represents decay.” This body of scholarly and creative writing produces in readers a kind of reverence but does not necessarily guarantee action. Romanticism in nature writing has not prevented ecological disasters. Thus this dissertation argues in favour of a bioregionalist approach, which guides us in devising intimate, place-based ways of living with the land in relation to larger global forces and innovative ways of considering the environment through literature. The pragmatic aspect of bioregionalism mitigates the tendencies in ecocriticism to romanticize nature. I analyse representative poems by these poets and show that their co- construction with nature can inform a larger audience on how to pay attention to differences in nature. This dissertation has two aims. It shows how these poets articulate an understanding of place, flora, fauna, and landform as here and as home. The second aim is to foreground Northern BC women’s poetry. While Chapter 1 of my dissertation analyses critical debates informing ecocriticism and ecofeminism, Chapter 2 maintains that these women poets produce and promote a community of flora, fauna, humans, and landforms in relation to culture. Chapters 3, 4, and 5 examine the poetry of Kane, Transken, and Wigmore respectively, and the last chapter provides readings of selected iii poems by Pigeau, Harris, Peters, and Conway. The importance of this study lies in demonstrating what the local has to offer a global world that has become ecologically unbalanced. Key Words: Bioregionalism; ecocriticism; ecofeminism; ecopoetry; nature writing Subject Terms: Northern BC; Canadian poetry; 21st Century; Bioregionalism; Ecocriticism; Ecofeminism; Ecopoetry; Nature writing; Women’s poetry iv Dedication: For my husband Boyd and his music. For the continuing support of our parents. Also for the thoughtful assistance of the poets themselves, Donna Kane, Si Transken, Gillian Wigmore, Dani Pigeau, Heather Harris, Sheila Peters, and Joan Conway whose poems, many emails, and long conversations helped me be more attentive. And perhaps most importantly for the eyes that are watching me, my children: Levi, Scout, Desirée, Pharaoh, and Cedar, and for my animal friends: Blue, Dixie, Luna-pup, Beauregard 99, Jeckle and Skeena the cats, Blackberry the pony, Black Mountain, Tink, Portia, Puspha, and Pax the donkeys, for Mario and Miley the pygmy goats, and for our yard birds: Isabella, Francesca, Lolita, Lola, Mick, Mack, Monty, Milly, Marigold, Graham, Benedict et al., for the free pigeons who come and go, and for our little farm that supports us. v Acknowledgements My sincere appreciation for my supervisor, Dr. Sophie McCall, for her understanding and dedication to revisions, and for my committee members Dr. Carole Gerson and Dr. Steve Collis for their encouragement and insightful suggestions. Thank you, too, to Lara Campbell for your considerate questions regarding gender analysis and methodology. I would also like to thank Dr. Rob Budde (UNBC) for his thoughtful questions, fitting suggestions, and insight. I would also like to thank the English Department and the Dean of Graduate Studies at SFU for their support in making this possible. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Approval.............................................................................................................................................. ii Abstract .............................................................................................................................................. iii Dedication: ..........................................................................................................................................v Acknowledgements .........................................................................................................................vi Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................................vii Primacy of Practice..........................................................................................................................ix Preface ..................................................................................................................................................x PART ONE: DEFINING TERMS ..............................................................................................1 CHapter 1: “Ecofeminism, Ecocriticism, Bioregionalism and Canadian Nature Writing: A SHort History including Contemporary Ecopoetry”. ........................................1 Ecocriticism........................................................................................................................................................2 Ecofeminism ......................................................................................................................................................4 Three Approaches in Ecocritical Theory...............................................................................................8 1. a). “Culture as Decay”............................................................................................................................8 1.b).