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anthropocene art / art of the anthropocene: Lucille Clifton the killing of the trees

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Clifton’s The Killing of the Trees presents a stark depiction of human violence against nature. The poem highlights how human intervention—specifically, the cutting down of trees—is an act of domination that disregards the intrinsic value of the natural world. The trees, which symbolize resilience and life, are described as possessing a kind of agency, as they “try to live” despite human interference. Clifton’s perspective is critical of culture’s encroachment upon nature, showing it as an exploitative force that prioritizes progress over ecological balance.

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anthropocene art / art of the anthropocene

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anthropocene art / art of the anthropocene: Lucille CLifton the killing of the trees

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“the killing of the trees” by Lucille Clifton

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In contrast, Bly’s The Dead Seal is a more meditative reflection on the collision of nature and culture. The poem describes a dead seal washing up on shore, its body marked by human presence. Unlike Clifton, who emphasizes active destruction, Bly adopts a more mournful tone, focusing on the tragic consequences of human activity rather than direct aggression. His portrayal of the dead seal evokes a sense of loss, reinforcing the idea that even in death, nature bears the weight of civilization’s impact.

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Lucille Clifton and Robert Bly engage with nature and culture as deeply intertwined, yet their works suggest different perspectives on whether these realms exist as ontologically separate spheres. Clifton portrays nature and culture as locked in a struggle, with culture imposing itself upon nature in a violent and intrusive manner, suggesting a fundamental opposition between the two. Bly, on the other hand, blurs the boundary between them, illustrating a melancholic entanglement where nature bears the weight of human presence, even in death.

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Clifton: Culture as a force of destruction

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Clifton: Culture as a force of destruction

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In The Killing of the Trees, Clifton depicts human civilization as aggressive and exploitative, showing nature as something struggling to resist destruction. The act of cutting down trees is not just a physical act but a symbolic representation of how human culture disregards the intrinsic value of the natural world. The trees, which metaphorically “try to live,” represent resilience, but they ultimately fall victim to human intervention. Clifton’s perspective suggests a critical stance toward culture, portraying it as an antagonist that enforces its will upon nature without regard for the consequences.

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Bly: Culture as an inevitable and tragic presence

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Bly: Culture as an inevitable and tragic presence

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Bly’s The Dead Seal takes a different approach by focusing on the aftermath of human interaction with nature. The dead seal, washed ashore and marked by civilization’s impact, reflects a more passive form of destruction. Rather than presenting culture as an overtly violent force, Bly instead emphasizes its lingering effects, suggesting that human presence, even when indirect, alters and damages the natural world. His perspective is less accusatory than Clifton’s but still conveys a deep sense of loss, mourning how nature suffers due to cultural forces.

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Clifton: Nature and Culture as Oppositional Forces

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Clifton: Nature and Culture as Oppositional Forces

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In The Killing of the Trees, Clifton presents nature and culture as fundamentally separate entities, with culture positioned as an antagonist that acts upon nature. The trees, which struggle against human destruction, symbolize a realm of life and continuity that exists independently of human intervention—until that intervention forces itself upon them. The violence of cutting them down is not just a moment of destruction; it represents an existential breach, where culture forcefully intrudes upon a natural world that would otherwise persist on its own terms. This suggests that Clifton sees nature and culture as ontologically distinct, with culture acting as a disruptive, external force rather than an inherent part of nature’s order.

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Bly: Nature and Culture as Interwoven and Inescapable

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Bly: Nature and Culture as Interwoven and Inescapable

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In contrast, Bly’s The Dead Seal resists a strict separation of nature and culture. The presence of the seal, a natural being marked by human influence even in death, suggests that culture has already permeated the natural world to such an extent that they cannot be fully disentangled. While the dead seal symbolizes nature’s suffering at the hands of human civilization, its presence on the shore—where land meets sea, where human and animal realms overlap—implies that nature and culture are not wholly separate but exist in a tragic interconnection. Bly displays this through giving an apology to the seal, "Forgive us if we have killed you." [2:13] He notes humans' impact on oceanic lives, such as this one, and entails the relationship between humans and animals through a negative and objective perspective. Rather than emphasizing a binary opposition, Bly acknowledges culture as an inescapable part of nature’s fate, treating them as interwoven rather than fundamentally distinct spheres.

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Clifton: Culture defines how we Perceive Nature

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Clifton: Culture defines how we Perceive Nature

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In The Killing of the Trees, Clifton demonstrates how culture dictates our understanding of nature by portraying the destruction of trees as a deliberate, almost ritualistic act of human power. The trees "try to live," suggesting an inherent vitality, but human forces—driven by cultural priorities—determine whether they are allowed to exist. This reflects the idea that nature, as we know it, is always interpreted through cultural standpoints. Trees are not merely biological entities; they become symbols of resilience or victims of human progress depending on the epistemological framework through which we view them. Clifton thus implies that nature does not exist as an objective, knowable reality outside of human cultural interaction; rather, it is always perceived through the lens of power, control, and historical experience.

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Bly: Our knowledge of nature is always filtered through human grief and meaning-making

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Bly: Our knowledge of nature is always filtered through human grief and meaning-making

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Bly’s The Dead Seal similarly suggests that we can never perceive nature purely or objectively; instead, our understanding is always shaped by emotion, loss, and human meaning-making. The dead seal, a natural being, is described in a way that imbues it with cultural and symbolic weight. Rather than being a neutral fact of the ecosystem, its death becomes an elegy—a site of mourning and reflection shaped by human consciousness. This highlights the epistemological entanglement between nature and culture: we do not simply "see" nature as it is; we interpret it through layers of cultural experience, emotion, and narrative.

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Ultimately, Clifton and Bly offer different ontological understandings of the relationship between nature and culture. Clifton upholds a more dualistic framework in which culture acts violently upon a separate and self-sustaining natural world. Bly, however, sees nature and culture as tragically entangled, suggesting that culture is not simply an external aggressor but an ever-present force that shapes and alters nature, even in ways that evoke sorrow and regret.

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nature cannot be known outside of culture

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nature cannot be known outside of culture

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Both poets suggest that nature and culture are not just physically entangled but epistemologically inseparable. Clifton shows that nature is understood through cultural acts of destruction and domination, while Bly reveals that even in nature’s most passive state—death—it is always framed through human emotions and meaning-making. In both cases, nature is never a pure, objective reality; it is always mediated through culture, making any attempt to separate them an impossible task from an epistemological perspective.

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While both poets recognize the conflict between nature and culture, Clifton sees culture as a brutal force imposing itself upon nature, while Bly sees it as an inevitable force whose presence leads to sorrowful consequences. Clifton’s portrayal is more direct and confrontational, emphasizing destruction, while Bly’s is contemplative and elegiac, focusing on the remnants of human influence. In both cases, however, the poets express concern over how culture alters, damages, and diminishes the natural world.

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Bly, Robert. “The Seal.” The Light Around the Body, Harper & Row, 1967, pp.

https://scalar.usc.edu/works/engl205-07h-fall-2017/media/lucille-clifton-the-killing-of-the-trees.meta?versions=1

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Clifton, Lucille. “the killing of the trees.” The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton 1965–2010, edited by Kevin Young and Michael S. Glaser, BOA Editions, 2012, p. 197.