Gary Snyder: Turtle Island - Themes

Gary Snyder observes nature and portrays his observations through poetry in his Turtle Island.  Some of his observations can be beautiful, but others can be hideous, such as his "The Dead by the Side of the Road" which depicts exactly as the title implies.  Snyder wanted to capture all of the aspects of nature in the form of poetry.  Many of Snyder's work is titled in a very literal sense of what the poem is about.  Although his "No Matter, Never Mind" is a very thought-provoking concept.