"This collection gathers the essays, travel journals, letters, poems, and translations of one of the influential voices of the twentieth century." "Gary Snyder has been a cultural force in America for five decades - prizewinning poet, environmental activist, Zen Buddhist, earth-householder, and reluctant counterculture guru. Having expanded far beyond the Beat scene that first brought his work to the public ear and eye, Snyder has produced a broad-ranging body of work that encompasses his fluency in Eastern literature and culture, his commitment to the environment, and his concepts of humanity's place in the cosmos."--BOOK JACKET.