- Title
- Poetry as speculative science: the origins of the Gaia hypothesis in poetry and myth
- Creator
- Musgrave, David
- Relation
- Axon: Creative Explorations Vol. 11, Issue 1
- Relation
- https://axonjournal.com.au/issues/11-1
- Publisher
- Faculty of Arts and Design, University of Canberra
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2021
- Description
- In the post-enlightenment era, the division between poetry and ‘truth’ has largely been framed in terms of scientistic versions of truth. In the modern era, this has manifested itself in a number of ways: in the adoption of ‘experimental’ as a metaphorical term for innovative poetic practices, and in the positivist framework for the notion of ‘progression’ in the arts generally. In this paper I seek to establish a frame for speculative poetry that is invested in myth conceived of as a resource of language. Following Ronald Hutton’s The Triumph of the Moon, I trace the development of James Lovelock’s ‘Gaia hypothesis’ as having its roots in eighteenth century mythopoeic practice, and also the foundations of scientism in the myth of atomism. I argue more broadly for the importance of poetry as a form of speculation predicated on myth, and that this aspect of poetry can be of vital importance in facing large-scale challenges such as global warming.
- Subject
- myth; poetry; atomism; Gaia; Earth goddess; Jindyworobak
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1441722
- Identifier
- uon:41512
- Identifier
- ISSN:1838-8973
- Language
- eng
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