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Gracious Nature: Poems on Earth and Life
Gracious Nature by Robert J. Tiess is a thoughtful and evocative exploration of the natural world and its interplay with human experience. Tiess’s collection serves as a canvas where nature’s grandeur and the human condition are painted with a rich palette of emotions and observations. His verses traverse a diverse landscape, from the microcosms of backyard flora to the majestic vistas of mountains and oceans, reflecting an earnest contemplation of Earth, life, and their interconnectedness.
Tiess’s writing style invites readers to delve into the simplicity of natural beauty while pondering its deeper implications. For instance, in “Nature Preserves,” Tiess reflects on the transformative power of nature through personal experience, juxtaposing a routine, confined life with the liberating embrace of the natural world. His poems are a mosaic of vivid imagery and sensory details that capture the essence of each subject, be it the delicate dance of a dandelion in “To a Dandelion” or the formidable presence of a mountain in “Peak Humility.”
A recurring theme in Tiess’s work is the symbiosis between humans and nature. In poems like “Cetacean” and “Mud Lessons,” he eloquently illustrates how nature serves as both a teacher and a sanctuary, offering wisdom and refuge. These pieces highlight the poet’s ability to find lessons in everyday natural phenomena. His voice resonates with a deep appreciation for nature’s bounty and an awareness of the human responsibility to protect and cherish it.
In “Gracious Nature” and “Recipe for Mass Extinction Number Six,” Tiess addresses environmental concerns, subtly urging a collective awakening to the impacts of human actions on the planet. His tone shifts to a more somber one here yet remains imbued with a hopeful undercurrent, suggesting redemption through awareness and change.
Gracious Nature: Poems on Earth and Life is a compelling ode to the natural world, its beauty, its lessons, and its fragility. Robert J. Tiess’s work is a fitting read for anyone who cherishes the natural world or seeks solace and wisdom in its embrace.
Pages: 182 | ASIN : B0CXT9K3FN
Nature Is Full Of Amazing Lessons
May We Learn from the Earth: Nature Poems and Reflections on the Environment is a collection of ecopoetry that explores the Earth and nature from a perspective outside the norm. What was the inspiration for writing these poems?
I love nature, and I enjoy contemplating the natural world through poetry. In my nature poems, I try to explore and, at times, celebrate various aspects of nature through unique metaphors, wording, and perspectives.
I endeavor to move beyond what I see and feel so I might have the hope of exploring and illuminating things that may not always be immediately apparent.
I also believe it is important for poets and writers to cultivate environmental awareness and a love of nature, and those are things I have tried to do with the nature poems, ecopoems, and essays in this collection.
What were some goals you set for yourself as a writer in this book?
My main intent was to create a book that had some potential to inspire and inform readers of all ages, backgrounds, and persuasions.
Through various poems in this book, I’ve tried to offer examples as to how we might begin to learn from Earth. Nature is full of amazing lessons and examples, and it’s in our interest as a species to educate ourselves as much as possible.
With my essays, I wanted to address a variety of essential concepts and misconceptions about nature, climate change, conservation, and environmental protection.
Too many people are willing to diminish or dismiss environmental concerns as political considerations. I do not see appreciating Earth and wanting a healthy planet as anything having to do with politics. Rather, I believe it is essential to promote environmental wellness for the sake of all living things, including humans.
Some of my essays include poetic segments and metaphorical thinking, and I’ve tried to creatively engage a variety of serious topics concerning the environment, including human apathy, alarmism, inaction, and the Anthropocene.
In some ways, I’m trying to challenge preconceived notions; in others, I’m aspiring to motivate new thinking, deeper caring, and closer personal and societal relationships with nature.
In hopes of making these ideas completely accessible to readers, I’ve included reading recommendations and a glossary of environmental terms.
Accessibility is something I prioritize and try to maintain throughout all my writing. I write with the intention of being read, and so it’s always a wish of mine for readers to feel welcome in my works.
What is one thing that you hope readers take away from May We Learn from the Earth?
We can learn much from our rare and beautiful planet and use that education to promote the wellness of nature, humanity, and all life on Earth.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will that be published?
I’m working on several books, including a nonfiction book about poetry, a collection of essays on literary theory, and new poetry collections.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
From the opening poems, we become reacquainted with the natural realm, where we may muse on mountains, reflect on rivers, philosophize in forests, and celebrate creation everywhere.
As we journey into Earth, the Beautiful, studying its rivers, canyons, trees, and fields, we learn and grow more mindful of the environment, ecology, and eventually Earth, the Besieged.
Insightful, inspiring, and impassioned with a lyrical love of life, this timely and truthful collection can be enjoyed by nearly everyone, from budding poetry enthusiasts and nature lovers to environmental champions and beyond.
In hopes of encouraging environmental interest and awareness, the author offers optional reading content, including a series of brief but thought-provoking essays meditating on nature, a concise glossary of Earth terms, reading suggestions, and more for readers to discover and explore.
About the Author: Recognized for crafting clear, classic, and compelling poems, Robert J. Tiess has been writing poetry since the 1980s. He is a SUNY New Paltz graduate, where he earned his degree in English Literature, and a lifetime resident of New York State, where he has enjoyed a fulfilling career in public library service. In 2022, his debut poetry collection, The Humbling and Other Poems, became available in print and electronic editions.
May We Learn from the Earth: Nature Poems and Reflections on the Environment
In Robert J. Tiess’s captivating collection, May We Learn from the Earth: Nature Poems and Reflections on the Environment, readers are treated to an exquisite and profound exploration of ecopoetry and the impact of human actions on our planet. With a sweeping range of topics, from the perspective of ocean-dwelling creatures to the natural composting of trees, Tiess leaves no stone unturned in his quest to celebrate and understand nature.
More than just a poetic anthology, May We Learn from the Earth also features a handy glossary, comprehensive lists of useful websites and books for further research, and other valuable resources demonstrating the author’s commitment to educating and engaging his audience.
The beauty and eloquence of the poems in this collection are undeniable. Tiess’s words reveal his wisdom, intelligence, and deep connection to the natural world. Rather than expressing bitterness or anger towards the environmental challenges we face, the author conveys a sense of mournful yet hopeful reflection on the damage humans have inflicted upon themselves and their surroundings.
The poems in this collection stand out for their accessibility and clarity. Eschewing the cryptic language often found in poetry, Tiess crafts verses that resonate with readers of all ages, even those as young as middle school students. His vivid descriptions of rivers, canyons, and trees bring readers into nature and allow them to experience all it has to offer. It renews the wonder that is often lost as people rush about in the world and grounds them in all that the Earth has to offer.
This comprehensive and informative work is filled with insightful observations expressed through beautifully crafted poems. May We Learn from the Earth serves as a delightful, thought-provoking, and educational introduction to the world of ecopoetry and nature-inspired verse.
Pages : 258 | ASIN : B0C2K3K73W
Knowing I Do Not Know
The Humbling and Other Poems is a collection of poetry covering topics that span all of life’s journey. What was the inspiration for this collection of poetry?
Throughout our lives, we each experience various degrees and kinds of humbling, situations which can challenge us or set us back in small or major ways.
Sometimes, that helps us to become more aware of truths or conditions we’ve yet to face, or of the progress we’ve yet to make, on our own or together. How we respond in each of those situations – with modesty or pride, verity or vanity – leads to new consequences, conditions, and considerations.
All of these things helped me to realize the book needed to be structured as a seven-part journey that could somehow parallel our respective and collective odysseys through life, from innocence, ignorance, and inexperience toward awakenings, wisdom, and empathy.
The expansive nature of this literary project was incredibly humbling in its own right.
Amid the Jersey Turnpike Whales is one of my favorite poems from this collection. Do you have a favorite poem, if so what one and why?
Each poem stands out in my mind for unique reasons. The title poem, “The Humbling,” is something I feel represents the collection well.
That poem alludes to the so-called “Socratic paradox” of “knowing I do not know,” but it does not cease with that idea. Life compels us to continue, to grow, to keep learning no matter what, and so all the verses to follow the opening poem pertain to that essential and ever-humbling progression.
Certain poems, such as “Lotus Dreamer” explore emergence and transformation – the birth into life – in spiritual and meditative manners, while my poem “Tell Them the Whole Truth” confronts the very harsh realities of history with an urgent specificity and persistent candor.
Some of my poems, like “The Song of Walt Is Our Song,” are more exuberant, a celebration of being alive, of liberation, as well as honoring the effusive spirit of Walt Whitman while delighting in our individualities as well as our beautifully diverse and vital communities.
“Amid the Jersey Turnpike Whales” was such a joyful poem to compose for several reasons, one being the fun challenge I brought upon myself: to portray the situation of being immersed in heavy traffic – as it’s raining heavily – within the extended metaphor of an ocean, all while emphasizing the adventurous qualities of a homeward commute.
And, just like that, through the transformative magic of metaphor, tractor trailers can become whales. The narrator’s hatchback becomes a dolphin. Trees are equated the coral reef.
Also, instead of approaching the long drive as a negative, mechanical experience, it was my hope the poem could feel imaginative, organic, and exciting – and then the driver being someone we might readily identify with: that someone who’s just trying to navigate through the traffic and get back home.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this collection of poetry?
Humility is the unifying theme for this collection. From the opening poem to the end of the book (including my “Addenda” of essays, etc.), the theme of humility remains prevalent and relevant.
Every poem in the collection engages or relates to that theme in one or more ways (not all of which may be apparent at first).
Other themes and ideas emerge throughout the text, such as liberty, compassion, selflessness, truth, joy, mindfulness, and peace.
Sometimes several or all of these themes converge in one poem – just as they often do in real life when we move through any given day and come to understand, at times, how such concepts remain essential to the success of our endeavors and to our hopes for real and lasting progress.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I am presently working on several book-length projects.
The two books I can mention right now are: my second poetry collection, which will focus on aspects of the natural world, and a separate work of nonfiction focusing on my literary theory (something since the 1980s I’ve been developing called “Interpreture”), which, as it seems to suggest, has to do with interpretation.
In The Humbling and Other Poems, I share one of the central concepts from that theory in an essay (“The Vicarium”). I hope readers get a chance to think about that mode of contemplation.
I hope to publish my second poetry collection in Fall 2022. I will share more information about these projects at my website and in my Twitter feed.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Instagram | Website
The Humbling and Other Poems
The Humbling and Other Poems by Robert J. Tiess is expansive, intricate, and a well-developed poetry collection. While this collection has been arranged in seven parts, its poems can be read in any order and cover many things in life’s journey. There is a kindness and gentleness to Tiess’ work that resonates on a human level, and in turn, gives itself beautifully to the reader. The “Addenda” towards the end of the collection is its own little marvel, and truthfully, if there’s anything I could do differently regarding my initial reading of this collection, it’s that I would read the closing section first.
One poem I especially enjoyed was “Amid the Jersey Turnpike Whales.” As someone who has driven on that cursed road myself, I still remember my first time on the turnpike and Tiess’ poeticizing of it to an ocean is, for me, enormously memorable. Visceral, the scene depicted quickly burrows itself inside your skin. You can taste the exhaust, the gravel, even the cold itself. And then, there’s the rain—Tiess’s chosen equalizer in dreaming the turnpike to an ocean. All of this, contrasted with the peace, warmth, and light of returning home to dryness and comfort, makes this poem a summoning of rest specific to home. And that’s the thing about this collection—while you might not be able to connect with every single poem in it, there’s still something in this book for everyone.
Further, I enjoyed seeing Tiess branching out in his use of form and space (ex: “Deepmost”). I reveled in the opportunity to see him break free from form and let live. Nevertheless, there are times when this sudden liberation causes the opposite to occur. In “Elsewhere in the Coffee House…,” it feels as if Tiess is almost trying to overcompensate for the poem’s unwinding nature by tensing and coiling it back into itself. Tiess is bold with his poems and his language hits a delightful, vital literary octave that only a true poet can touch in their writing.
The Humbling and Other Poems is a well-constructed, and thoughtful creation which not only brings people joy, but also serves to make the world a better place simply by existing.
Pages: 233 | ASIN: B09YMPN6VW
