First published in my Patreon newsletter: May 2023
[To] The Last [Be] Human by Jorie Graham is a tetralogy of four poetry collections written across the span of nearly twenty years. Before reading this, drawn by it being a Pulitzer Prize winner, I had never encountered Graham’s work before. The foreword by Robert McFarlane (a writer I adore) drew me in further as it was explained that these collections centre the human experience within environmental crises – focusing on the interplay between our detrimental significance to the world around us as well as our seeming insignificance in relation to Nature’s power.
At first, however, I found it difficult to follow Graham’s style. Written in long lines with a stream of consciousness style structure, Graham’s poems felt convoluted and too expansive to have the desired impact. I soon realised this was my fault as a reader, prone to devouring poetry rather than savouring it. With Graham’s work I needed to slow down, I needed to re-read, I needed to appreciate the human/conscious thread through each piece as it was weaved within nature and environmental factors. It was then I began to appreciate Graham’s evolving style.
I particularly enjoyed the last two collections within this tetralogy – one which focused on grief and the loss of a mother and father, and the last which bordered upon the beginning of the pandemic and how we could no longer run away from ourselves when locked in a home with them. This is also where Graham’s style changed dramatically, evolving to suit poetic trends and the fast-paced living we’ve created even if we are not accustomed to it. The poem on the next page is perhaps my favourite – embodying both Graham’s change in style and how much her work is grounded in earth.
In the end, this tetralogy will stay with me for a while. It is a journey in poetic craft I will certainly return to.
Kristiana Reed 
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