Kleverig drama: Nieuwe ecokritische perspectieven in de poëzie van Dominique De Groen

Abstract

This article investigates new perspectives on ecocriticism through the works of the Flemish poet Dominique De Groen. Taking Timothy Morton’s notion of ‘dark ecology’ as a starting point, it argues that De Groen’s poetry represents a form of anthropocenic writing that exceeds the scope of traditional ecocriticism. Read through the lens of the Anthropocene as both a geological era and an episteme, her writing can shed light on the entanglement between the human subject and its environment that is central to the conceptualisation of the Anthropocene as discourse. It is argued that the discursive dimension of the Anthropocene can be a valuable way to not only broaden our understanding of ecocritical literature, but also to include literary texts focusing on questions of labour, industrialisation, and capitalism in the anthropocenic debate.