John Gatta – författare

What might it mean, existentially and spiritually, for humans to form an intimate relation with particular sites or dwelling places on earth? In ancient Rome, the notion of a locale's genius loci signaled recognition of its enchanted, enspirited identity. But in a digitalized America of unprecedented mobility can place still matter as seed ground for the soul? Such questions have been broached by ecocritics concerned with how place-inflected experience figures in literature, and by theologians concerned with ecotheology and ecospirituality. This book offers a uniquely integrative perspective, informed by a theological phenomenology of place that takes fuller account of the spiritualities associated with built environments than ecocriticism typically does.Spirits of Place blends theological and cultural analysis with personal reflection, while focusing on the multi-layered witness presented by American literature. John Gatta's interpretive readings range across texts by an array of canonical as well as lesser-known writers. Along the way, it addresses such themes as the religious implications of localism vs. globalism; the diverse spiritualities associated with long-term residency, resettlement, and pilgrimage; why some sites seem more hallowed than others; and how the creative spirit of Imagination figures in place-identified perceptions of the numinous. Whether in Christian or other religious terms, no discrete place matters absolutely. Yet this study demonstrates how and why hallowed geography and the sacramentality of place have mattered throughout our cultural history.

In this book, John Gatta argues that the religious import of American environmental literature has yet to be fully recognized or understood. Making Nature Sacred explores how the quest for 'natural revelation' has been pursued through successive phases of American literary and intellectual history. It shows how the imaginative challenge of 'reading' landscapes has been influenced by biblical hermeneutics. Though focused on adaptations of Judeo-Christian religious traditions, it also samples Native American, African American, and Buddhist forms of ecospirituality. It begins with Colonial New England writers such as Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edwards, re-examines pivotal figures such as Henry Thoreau and John Muir, and takes account of writings by Mary Austin, Rachel Carson, and many others along the way. The book concludes with an assessment of the "spiritual renaissance" underway in current environmental writing, as represented by five noteworthy poets and by authors such as Wendell Berry, Anne Dillard, Marilynne Robinson, Peter Matthiessen, and Barry Lopez.

An evocative investigation of ecotheology's first principles, Green Gospel will serve as antidote to the spiritual devastations of the climate crisis.As climate change continues to ravage our planetary home, deepening the divide between Earth and her stewards, churched and unchurched seekers alike are casting about for a spirituality that focuses on the natural world. Just in time, Green Gospel opens a window into the developing realm of ecotheology, defining foundational principles and outlining how these tenets can be lived out through worship and individual practice. To help readers connect with otherwise challenging concepts, Gatta’s Green Gospel draws on illustrative examples from literary works and liturgical texts to transport readers through these artistic portals to a world lit up by God’s grace. Designed for parish reading groups or individual study, this encompassing yet compact introductory text unites the theological framework of the green movement with spiritual practice, setting forth a comprehensive vision that moves all the way from first principles of Christian doctrine to the practical consequences of today's pressing environmental issues.

American nature writing characteristically embodies an appreciative, lyrical evocation of the natural world. But often, too, green-disposed authors have been moved to dramatize diverse, anthropogenic perils to environmental health. John Gatta freshly reveals how this dark yet graced and hopeful strain of environmental literature enlarges upon a jeremiad tradition of prophecy inherited from Puritan New England. Across successive historical periods, such expression has assumed a rich variety of American form--as creative nonfiction, poetry, fiction, or film documentary. In the spirit of ancient Hebrew prophecy, jeremiads—unlike diatribes--reach beyond effusions of doom and gloom toward the prospect of change through a conversion of heart. Accordingly, the new climate fiction and much other writing steeped in what Gatta terms this “Green Jeremiad” tradition not only warn of material threats to life’s flourishing, but may also look to stir spiritual understanding and renewal.