Blades of Grass

The American Scholar has published a review of Christopher Kondrich's latest poetry collection, "Tread Upon," which explores the diminishing value placed on the natural world. The review delves into Kondrich's contemplation of the devaluation of life, from the environmental impact of human activities to the struggles of wildlife in a changing world.

Kondrich, whose previous works include "Contrapuntal" and "Valuing" – the latter winning the National Poetry Series and being named a best book of 2019 by Library Journal – presents a book-length sequence in "Tread Upon" that begins with the image of a single blade of grass. "We belittle the grass when we think it grows / everywhere. It doesn’t. It grows here and here and here," he writes. "Even one blade is a place."

The review highlights Kondrich's concern for the overlooked and undervalued aspects of nature, such as the native grasslands of the prairies, which are disappearing due to the spread of Kentucky bluegrass. It also touches on the broader environmental issues that the collection addresses, including BP's carbon footprint concept, the impact of wind turbines on bats, coal ash pollution in the Cape Fear River, and the plight of Western pond turtles facing water scarcity.

Kondrich is currently the Visiting Poet in Residence for the Creative Writing MFA program at the University of Maryland. His poems have been featured in numerous prestigious publications, including The Atlantic, The Believer, The Kenyon Review, Los Angeles Review of Books, The New York Review of Books, The Paris Review, Ploughshares, and The Yale Review.

The American Scholar also promotes its podcast, which features interviews with notable figures in literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs. The podcast, hosted by Stephanie Bastek, offers a mix of cutting-edge works in progress, long-form narratives, and excerpts from new books. Listeners can subscribe on various platforms, including iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Acast, and Pandora. The podcast team encourages suggestions for future episodes and welcomes feedback from listeners.