Obscene Anthropocene is the first book-length study to look at the role satire plays in contemporary ecopoetry as part of climate justice activism. The author traces several kinds or modes of satiric ecopoetry and shows how satire is an excellent way to acknowledge volatile emotions caused by climate heating, such as denial, anger, despair, loneliness, and grief. He offers in-depth readings of dozens of poems and poets from the 1950s through today, including emphasizing contributions by women and poets of color to prove how ecopoetry is rapidly evolving in response to pressures from the Anthropocene.

Peter Schmidt is William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of English Literature at Swarthmore College.