SOURCE: "Coyote-Mind: An Interview with Gary Snyder," in TriQuarterly, Vol. 79, Fall, 1990, pp. 148-72.

In the following interview, Snyder discusses the influence of his past on his work and the evolution of his ideas on nature and Buddhism.

[Martin]: I'd like to start by talking about origins and influences. You've spoken about your childhood before, but what I'm interested in is your experience of growing up in a politically conscious environment: your family was involved in IWW politics. Can you say something about that?

[Snyder]: Well it was a Washington State thirties Depression household, as many households were, in the rural territory just north of Seattle, predominantly settled by Scandinavians with a few Japanese-American households doing truck farming. Our family tradition was radical politics on both sides, particularly on my father's side because my grandfather was an active IWW and socialist speaker and thinker. Then my father was active...