Toronto Italian Studies Channeling Nature

Channelling Nature explores how twentieth-century Italian poets like Andrea Zanzotto, Daria Menicanti, and Milo De Angelis engage with plants, animals, and water not merely as symbols, but as agents of meaning and relation. What if poetry could teach us to live differently – alongside plants, animals, and water? Channelling Nature: Plants, Animals, and Water in Italian Poetry explores how twentieth-century Italian literature can be a powerful medium for ecological thought. Through close readings of poets like Andrea Zanzotto, Daria Menicanti, and Milo De Angelis, environmental and Italian studies professor Serena Ferrando reveals how poetry gives voice to the more-than-human world and models new forms of multispecies cohabitation, resistance, and care. Moving beyond traditional symbolism, the book shows how poetic language channels the agency of nature itself, shaping environmental sensibilities and ethical engagement. Drawing on ecocriticism, environmental humanities, and Italian literary studies, Ferrando combines literary analysis with transdisciplinary insight to highlight the ethical, aesthetic, and philosophical significance of poetry’s engagement with nature. Organized around the bodies of plants, animals, and water, the book uncovers surprising connections between humans and the non-human world. Ultimately, Channelling Nature argues that poetry’s marginality and contemplative pace foster a unique ecological attention – one rooted in empathy and imagination, inspiring more sustainable ways of living.