Dismantling Disaster, Death, and Survival in Ecopoetry

Abstract

The Philippines, a country situated close to the equator and in the Pacific Ring of Fire, has been constantly hit by natural disasters such as typhoons, earthquakes, landslides, and more. With a good number of local poetry dealing with these natural disasters as themes, is it possible for ecopoetry to provide readers with clear ideas on how to survive these catastrophic events? The major objective of this study is to explore the role of literature in promoting survival through the exploration of death and disaster in poetry. To do this, the different versions of disaster in the poetry of Merlie Alunan and Abercio V. Rotor are analyzed using the concept of “dismantling.” Dismantling involves surfacing the “scars of history” in poetry to create an ambience of disaster, which will link the dismantling of the (inside) feelings of the human being with the (outside) physical experience to clear a space for survival. Here, ecopoetry serves as a catalyst for sustainable thoughts which can be calls to action for preventing future disasters. Moreover, ecopoetry is also a “witness to history” wherein writing about disasters is acknowledged as an act of surviving, conquering trauma, and providing a personal perspective to historical survival accounts. Ecopoetry, then, is also demonstrated as a “time capsule” of certain tragedies – one that may be more accurate than memory can ever be.