June 1, 2001

Environment and the Literary Landscape

By LAWRENCE BUELL

One of my main purposes is to put "green" and "brown" landscapes, the landscapes of exurbia and industrialization, in conversation with one other. "In order for ecocriticism to earn its claim to relevance," the ecocritic Lance Newman observes, "its critical practice must be greatly extended. ... The environmental crisis threatens all landscapes -- wild, rural, suburban, and urban. South Boston is just as natural (and wild) as Walden Pond. They are equally endangered by the greenhouse effect.