To Dig In ~

by Gary Snyder

‘To say « we must dig in » or « here we must draw our line » is a far more universal application than growing your own food or living in the country. One of the key problems in American society now, it seems to me, is people’s lack of commitment to any given place- which is, again, totally unnatural and outside history. Neighbourhoods are allowed to deteriorate, landscapes are allowed to be strip-mined, because there is nobody who will live there and take responsibility; they’ll just move on.’

excerpt from The Real Work. Interviews and Talks 1964-1979. New Directions, 1980, p. 117.