Mountain Man Poet

Gary Snyder, an American poet who celebrates Zen and nature, looked like a man-in-the-mountain come down last night as he descended the stairs to the Hilles Cinema stage, clad in forest green and carrying his poems in a knotted scarf.

Snyder read some of his famous Japanese-influenced works, including the haunting poem "This Tokyo" and the humorous "Burning Trash," to a standing-room-only crowd.

Snyder, who has worked as a logger, forester, carpenter and seaman and lived in Japan for ten years, is now residing in the California mountains. The poet was appointed to the California Council of the Arts by Gov. Edmund G. Brown, Jr.