Some have argued that we must emphasize ecological, that is, nonanthropocentric values at the most fundamental level of our educational system. But traditional culture—particularly literature—has long been a vital part of our curriculum at the secondary and university levels, and some forms or genres of traditional literature clearly express or presuppose an ecological (nonanthropocentric) consciousness. Thus in literary teaching, at least, we need not introduce ecological thinking as something new and revolutionary; rather, we need merely go back to the “classics” with a clearer understanding of their philosophical foundations. Here I explore a particular case drawn from Russian folklore—by definition a form of “national” expression—the lyric song, and its use of natural symbolism, or rather the presupposed understanding of nature implicit in this symbolism. A crucial point here is the tendency of the traditional lyric folksong to foreground a “sad” humanity (or human nature) closely paralleled with a “suffering” natural world; associated with this, and perhaps lending support to an ecofeminist viewpoint, is the predominance in these songs of sad or suffering female figures.

While a visiting scholar at the University of British Columbia, the interviewer chanced to meet a young talented emerging writer Lydia Kwa residing in Vancouver, Canada and discussed at length with her various issues centering on her virgin novel entitled This Place Called Absence. The following interview is a result of the exchanges between Lydia and the interviewer.