Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Litera: Journal of Language, Literature and Culture Studies, cilt.34, sa.1, ss.39-60, 2024 (ESCI)
Dearly, first published in 2020, is the latest poetry collection of the acclaimed writer,
Margaret Atwood. In Dearly, Atwood revisits some of her favourite themes and subjects
such as love, loss, time, ageing, sexuality, gender, nature, and environment. The book
is divided into five sections, and the poems grouped in the same section revolve
around a common theme. In section IV, the poems grouped under the title of “Plasticene
Suite” discuss the increasing amount of plastic waste as the distinctive anthropogenic
marker of our age. Accordingly, each poem focuses on a different aspect and
consequence of this environmental problem. The primary objective of this study is
to analyse Plasticene Suite poems, namely “Rock-Like Object on Beach”, “Faint Hopes”,
“Foliage”, “Midway Island Albatross”, “Editorial Notes”, “Sorcerer’s Apprentice”, “Whales”,
“Little Robot”, and “The Bright Side” from Dearly through the lens of ecopoetry to
reveal Atwood’s criticism of the anthropogenic factors contributing to the current
ecological crisis, particularly the ever-increasing generation of plastic waste, and to
comment on contemporary poetry’s awareness of and power to address the pressing
environmental issues. The study also contends that ecopoetic readings of Plasticene
Suite poems can help raise awareness about the rise in plastic waste during and after
the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. In that sense, the ecopoetic readings of
Plasticene Suite poems can urge us to reconsider our dependence on plastic and
encourage us to adopt sustainable practices and habits by promoting consciousness
about this pressing environmental problem