Wylie, Dan. Seven South African Poets and the Natural World. Atelier Books Ltd, 2026.
Seven South African Poets and the Natural World. Cover.
Seven Southern African Poets and the Natural World explores the nature-oriented poetry of //Kabbo, Roy Campbell, N. H. Brettell, Sydney Clouts, Ruth Miller, Douglas Livingstone, and John Eppel.
Seven Southern African Poets and the Natural World is essential reading for scholars and students of poetry related to the most pressing issue of our time. This erudite, sensitive collection of ecologically focused essays extends beyond the eponymous seven poets to encompass Southern African political contexts and poetic debates, as well as Western literary tradition
—Professor Emerita Wendy Woodward, University of the Western Cape
From sacralization to despoliation, the richly diverse poetry examined in Dan Wylie’s new book clarifies the range of human impacts upon and attitudes toward the natural world. Although the book focuses on southern Africa, this poetry is a deep window into the universal poetic process and its potential to move readers toward awareness, understanding, and action. Wylie has written a learned and lively introduction to southern African nature poetry, from //Kabbo to Eppel.
—Scott Slovic, University of Idaho, co-editor of Nature and Literary Studies
What can poetry do to save the earth? Well, nothing, Dan Wylie begins. And yet! In this collection of sensitively calibrated readings, poems are our vectors of hope. Written from the perspective of our terrifying present moment of global environmental crisis, the book looks back to explore how each of seven Southern African poets has written about the natural foundation of our existence. This makes for a sustained and attentive response to the textures of poetic language, and a substantial contribution to the emerging body of ecocritical work from the region.
—Professor Julia Martin, University of the Western Cape
© 2026 Dan Wylie. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Courtesy of Atelier Books Ltd.