Washed in the Hurricane: Poems for an Endangered Paradise

Washed in the Hurricane compiles four decades of poetry addressing the overriding issue of our time: our disconnect as a society from the natural systems that sustain our lives, and its increasingly catastrophic results. The poems cover Wing's encounters with wilderness, glimpses of the wild amid the human world, and the causes and repercussions of climate change. The book concludes with an essay on the ancient and timeless role of poets as the voice of nature in human affairs. Stephen Wing discovered the wilderness in the summer after 9th grade, and suddenly the world made sense. A deep connection to wild nature has been his spiritual center ever since. Though his work as a poet explores other themes, his lifelong relationship with nature is the heart of his work. "He is the rare poet who has something important to say, and who says it clearly and powerfully." -- Joel J. Brattin, professor of English "The crisis of our time is that we're on-deck in these last moments when something, anything, can perhaps be done to slow the demise of our planet . . . Stephen Wing, as a responsible poet, lays out the ways we can re-calibrate our relationship to this world while continuing to honor its nurturing soul." -- Rupert Fike, poet and author of Lotus Buffet, Hello the House, and Voices from the Farm "Wing's poetry vividly reminds us not only that nature is beautiful - and some of the choices we humans have made much less so - but also that the lines we create to separate nature from technology, or humanity from the animals, or civilization from wilderness, really exist only in our dualistic minds. To top it off, the book ends with Wing's "Earth Poetry" manifesto, a beautiful and brilliant statement about just why poetry like this is so vital and necessary for our time." -- Carl McColman, author of Eternal Heart and Unteachable Lessons "In Stephen Wing's poems, you will find soft-spoken conversations with the natural world, threads of ancient mystery, yearning for what's lost, and hope for what remains. . . . His is a vital perspective, and one we can all share- without going to the wilderness or crossing the sea or orbiting the planet- just by paying attention to the nature that lingers all around us. It is telling us something." -- Wade Harrison, forester, writer, and land conservation professional "Stephen Wing lists Robinson Jeffers, Theodore Roethke, Kenneth Rexroth, Denise Levertov, Galway Kinnell, James Wright, W.S. Merwin, Gary Snyder, Wendell Berry, and Mary Oliver as the 'tribal elders' from whom he learned his craft. My judgment is that with this collection, Wing earns for himself a place in any such list of importantly earth-wise American poets." -- Jim Allen, published poet and retired English professor, University of Alabama "Why do I feel uplifted when you write about the devastation of the Earth? Somehow the clarity and beauty of the words give me hope that if we know something, we can do something." -- Sister Denise Laffan, Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist order "Your book Washed in the Hurricane is reaching deep places in my soul. I need to share this with more folks!" -- Mary Howard, math instructor