Solastalgia

Recalling Joni Mitchell's famous lyric "They paved paradise, put up a parking lot," Solastalgia is a heart-wrenching and harrowing overview of environmental destruction. Though it is an ominous exploration of the Anthropocene era and the ways humans have contributed to the changing climate and landscape, it spends much of its time honoring all the strange and wondrous creatures-"may you outlast us"- that humans, both intentionally and unwittingly, are shoving toward extinction's cliff. Solastalgia is an eloquent tribute to all the awe-inspiring flora and fauna that we have failed as a species. I love this book not only for its incisive eco-eye but also for its dazzling language terrains. Using language as the tool to effect change, these poems make you want to be better, do better.Simone Muench