Response and responsibility: poets as guides for tourists.

Abstract

Abstract This chapter explores the idea that poetry may 'realign one's sympathies and enlarge one's abilities' with the help of philosophers from the phenomenological tradition who appreciate human beings' fundamental embeddedness in the surrounding world and by taking a closer look at poets who allow their own connections with place and landscape to enter into their poetry, so as to stimulate both responsiveness and responsibility. After the presentation of three such poets (Seamus Heaney, George Mackay Brown, and Nils-Aslak Valkeapää), the chapter suggests an educational programme for schoolchildren and pupils in developing poetry-based tourist guides, with a view to mobilizing environmental responsibility among both locals and visitors.