Activist Poetry #1: Animal Rights Poetry
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poetreeThe Animal Rights and Animal Welfare communities have long used poetry as a vehicle of activism and expression. Long before the mainstreaming of the movement, it emerged piecemeal in literary circles - at times to great effect.
For example, in 1925, a man by the name of Edward Breck began the National Anti-Steel Trap League. The League circulated literature that reached millions across the United States, often using poetry to deliver a message that though common today was revolutionary at its inception: that steel leghold traps are cruel and ought to be abolished. A direct outcome of the League's efforts were laws against steel traps in three states.
One poem published and widely circulated by the League was as follows:
To A Fur
by F. F. Van de Water
The trap jaws clamped and held him fast;
None marked his fright, none heard his cries.
His struggles ceased; he lay at last
With wide, uncomprehending eyes,
And watched the sky grow dark above
And watched the sunset turn to grey,
And quaked with anguish while he strove
To gnaw the prisoned leg away.
Then day came rosy from the east
But still those steel jaws kept their hold,
And no one watched the prisoned beast
But fear and hunger, thirst and cold.
Oppressed by pain, his dread grew numb,
Fright no more stirred his flagging breath.
He longed, in vain, to see him come,
The cruel hunter, bringing death.
Then through the gloom that night came One
Who set the timid spirit free;
"I know thine anguish, little son –
so once men trapped and tortured me."
Noteworthy Related Reading:
The Mouse's Petition by Anna Barbauld, 1773 (poem) Topic: Vivisection. This poem was actually left by the cage of a laboratory mouse by a lab assistant and is considered to be one of the earliest examples of anti-vivisection poetry.
Sheep of Fools by Sue Coe, Judith Brody & Monte Beauchamp, 2005 (book including verse & illustration) Topic: Wool Industry. If you click "look inside," you can see the opening verse of the book, which consists of Sue Coe's vivid artwork accompanied by verse and "hoofnotes" detailing historical facts on the wool trade.
Voice of The Voiceless by Ella Wheeler Wilcox, 1806 (poem, five versions available) Topic: Animal Welfare (general) with some focus on hunting. This poem is still widely circulated in its shortened version in the animal welfare community today.
If you would like to share an animal rights poem, or your thoughts on the featured poem, please do so in the comments!
For example, in 1925, a man by the name of Edward Breck began the National Anti-Steel Trap League. The League circulated literature that reached millions across the United States, often using poetry to deliver a message that though common today was revolutionary at its inception: that steel leghold traps are cruel and ought to be abolished. A direct outcome of the League's efforts were laws against steel traps in three states.
One poem published and widely circulated by the League was as follows:
To A Fur
by F. F. Van de Water
The trap jaws clamped and held him fast;
None marked his fright, none heard his cries.
His struggles ceased; he lay at last
With wide, uncomprehending eyes,
And watched the sky grow dark above
And watched the sunset turn to grey,
And quaked with anguish while he strove
To gnaw the prisoned leg away.
Then day came rosy from the east
But still those steel jaws kept their hold,
And no one watched the prisoned beast
But fear and hunger, thirst and cold.
Oppressed by pain, his dread grew numb,
Fright no more stirred his flagging breath.
He longed, in vain, to see him come,
The cruel hunter, bringing death.
Then through the gloom that night came One
Who set the timid spirit free;
"I know thine anguish, little son –
so once men trapped and tortured me."
Noteworthy Related Reading:
The Mouse's Petition by Anna Barbauld, 1773 (poem) Topic: Vivisection. This poem was actually left by the cage of a laboratory mouse by a lab assistant and is considered to be one of the earliest examples of anti-vivisection poetry.
Sheep of Fools by Sue Coe, Judith Brody & Monte Beauchamp, 2005 (book including verse & illustration) Topic: Wool Industry. If you click "look inside," you can see the opening verse of the book, which consists of Sue Coe's vivid artwork accompanied by verse and "hoofnotes" detailing historical facts on the wool trade.
Voice of The Voiceless by Ella Wheeler Wilcox, 1806 (poem, five versions available) Topic: Animal Welfare (general) with some focus on hunting. This poem is still widely circulated in its shortened version in the animal welfare community today.
If you would like to share an animal rights poem, or your thoughts on the featured poem, please do so in the comments!
no subject
Date: 2012-05-30 06:39 am (UTC)Poem for Progeny
Date: 2012-08-02 05:15 am (UTC)Poem for Progeny
Date: 2012-08-02 05:15 am (UTC)It is not that I scorn man, but
your greed to slaughter the magnificent elephant
for its tusks. The glorious tiger for its penis.
Will your children love you that much more
for your ivory Buddha made of death? For your
manhood made of dust? For their memories
of your bloodstained hands?