American literature; California; geology; geopoetry; anthropocentrism; John Muir; Robinson Jeffers; Gary Snyder

This essay examines the rocky veins in the body of California literature, with a focus on writings that deploy geological phenomena to decenter human agency. It probes deep layers which the authors unearth and cast against the human conception of time. Closely linked with the notion of deep time is the revival of a sense of wonder which had been systematically eroded by positivistic and rationalistic sciences. In the texts examined here, the vanishing sense of wonder is recreated through the imaginative powers of geology-informed literature. It is thus the overall impact of the geopoetic perspective on the dominant anthropocentric outlook that will be analyzed. This essay traces the subversive geopoetic tradition, emphasizing the crucial roles of John Muir, Robinson Jeffers and Gary Snyder.