The spine of Cold Pastoral is its documentation and meditation on the British Petroleum oil spill of 2010, as well as the legacy of the devastation wrought in its wake on both humans and the environment. The poetry is grounded in the lyric tradition of the pastoral and elegy, but reworked to accommodate the language of field notes and interviews, many conducted by the poet herself, as well as public documents like BP’s “Initial Exploration Report.”

While grounded in a consideration of the Macondo oil spill, Cold Pastoral expands its scope to consider other ecological issues, as well: climate change, species extinction, Monsanto’s genetically engineered seeds, and even the contemporary water crisis in Flint, MI. The book’s fusing of these seemingly disparate topics highlights the interconnectedness of them all.