Ecocriticism

The Author: Donelle N. Dreese currently teaches literature and composition at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. She holds a Ph.D. in literature and criticism specializing in American Indian and environmental literatures. In addition to numerous articles published in professional journals, she has published poetry in a wide variety of literary magazines.

«Gracefully written and solidly researched, 'Ecocriticism' surveys the emerging field of ecocriticism and places Donelle N. Dreese among the growing number of critics who question dualistic discourses that separate humans from the natural world. Writing with keen insights honed from ecofeminist and postcolonial theories, Dreese focuses on American Indian literatures to illuminate the struggle writers face as they attempt to integrate the past with the present and reconcile their mythic/historical sense of place with their contemporary sense of place. The value of Dreese's fine book lies in its call for each of us to seriously reconsider those cultural values that are destructive to the earth. In short, this is required reading for all those interested in reimagining human relation to other species and to our communal and natural environments.» (Joni Adamson, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of English and Folklore, University of Arizona; Author of 'American Indian Literature, Environmental Justice, and Ecocriticism: The Middle Place', 2001)
«In 'Ecocriticism,' Donelle N. Dreese cogently explains the value of employing the concept of 'reterritorialization' in reading a variety of contemporary writers: Anzaldua, Berry, Chrystos, Griffin, Harjo, Hogan, Momaday, Ortiz, Rose, and Vizenor. She shows that white and native, male and female, poet and prose writer, share a concern for recovery, psychically and physically, through relocating and placing themselves and their characters. Dreese presents her theoretical concepts clearly and shows their efficacy through invigorating and stimulating readings across literary genres that demonstrate how all these writers are united by a sense of urgency about the need to reconfigure and defend their home territories.» (Patrick D. Murphy, Chair, English Department, University of Central Florida, Orlando; Founding Editor, 'ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment')