Snyder’s 1968 collection, in four sections that map his life to that point: Far West, the Sierra and Northwest of his trail crew and fire lookout years; Far East, Japan and the years in a Kyoto monastery; Kali, India; and Back, the return to America. Short lines, mountain work, hitchhiking, lovers, zazen, and a plain vocabulary of trail, rock, and weather. He was translating Han Shan around then and the influence is all over it. This is the poetry to read alongside the essays, and it’s where the ear got trained.
The Back Country