Writing Stories of Anthropocene Extinction: Barbara Kingsolver’s Fiction and Nonfiction

Abstract

ABSTRACT Humans are the most numerous big animals on Earth, deciding the fate of other species. As the massive geological force in the current epoch, the Anthropocene, human-driven alterations of the Earth’s environment take the form of a few dangerous trends: climate disruptions, species extinction, pollution of air, land, and sea, and growth of the human population. Barbara Kingsolver’s fictional works Prodigal Summer (2000) and Flight Behaviour (2012) are environment writings and narratives that foreground the current ‘Anthropocene extinction’ crisis. She recounts the stories of the coyote clan and the already extinct red wolf, the American chestnuts that became nearly extinct, the Monarchs changing their flight direction to more severe climate conditions, the booming trade of wildlife and pet animals, and numerous other species readily available for human consumption and use. Kingsolver’s writings amalgamate scientific knowledge with poetics and intersect the fiction and realities of global species extinction. The paper examines why exploring literary texts on species extinction is important and focuses on the storytelling mode of Kingsolver’s extinction narratives. This study also presents the texts as new narratives of hope presenting the affirmative visions of a sustainable future and the coexistence of human-nonhuman species.