Pro-Animal Poetics (Routledge Focus on Literature)

Pro-Animal Poetics offers a comprehensive study of the animal poems of D. H. Lawrence and Ted Hughes through the lens of Critical Animal Studies. It examines the works of these two renowned pro-animal poets chosen for their repudiation of ‘abstract thought’ and celebration of ‘animalness embodied in the animals’. Inspired by posthumanist thinkers, the book challenges anthropocentric biases to rethink human-animal relationships. The study explores Lawrence’s emphasis on animal alterity and the unsubstitutable singularity of animal lives, alongside his advocacy for a moral human-animal relationship that stimulates ethical responsibility. For Hughes, it traces his biocentric vision in early works, promoting respect for animals on their own terms, and delves into his later engagement with animal ethics, driven by environmental consciousness and a pursuit of ecological justice for non-human animals. Ultimately, this book aims to enrich zoo-centric literary criticism and foster a more perceptive, responsible understanding of human-animal entanglements.

Krishanu Maiti is an Assistant Professor of English at Sukumar Sengupta Mahavidyalaya, Keshpur, affiliated to Vidyasagar University, India. He earned his doctoral degree with a specialisation in representation and treatment of animals in Mondernist Poetry. Dr. Maiti has edited two scholarly books: Posthumanist Perspectives on Literary and Cultural Animals (2021) and Global Perspectives on Eco-Aesthetics and Eco-Ethics: A Critique (2019). His co-authored essay on ‘Veganism’ is included in The Routledge Handbook of Vegan Studies. He has been invited to deliver lectures on Literary Animal Studies to graduate students and early-career research scholars at various institutions. His areas of interest include Critical Animal Studies, Posthumanism and Environmental Humanities.