Original scientific paper
Look at This Blue and the Discontents of the Anthropocene
Marija Krivokapić
; University of Montenegro
Abstract
Allison Adelle Hedge Coke’s book-length poem Look at This Blue (2022)—a finalist for the National Book Award (2022) and the 2023 winner of the Emory Elliot and Thomas Wolfe awards—is a poetic exploration of California’s biodiversity, its history of genocide, and the urgent need for environmental and social justice. Look at This Blue is characterized by inclusive activism, as the poet, from the perspective of an Indigenous teacher of culture, calls California to be responsible for its human and nonhuman life, the life native to California, and the life that moves there in hope. This discussion delves into the thematic and stylistic elements of Look at This Blue and the way the poem’s form reflects the content to express the Indigenous perception of the environmental problems and hope in human potential to overcome the capitalist mode through recognition and mercy. My reading is informed by the environmental humanities and Indigenous criticism of the Anthropocene.
Keywords
Anthropocen; the narrative of progress; ecological racism; environmental humanities; Indigenous studies
Hrčak ID:
349031
URI
Publication date:
9.7.2026.
Visits: 0 *