Ode to Dirt

“Ode to Dirt” was written by American poet Sharon Olds and published in her collection Odes (2016). Written as an address to dirt itself in the poetic form of the ode, “Ode to Dirt” takes the reader on an environmental journey as Olds explores the value of an often-overlooked basic element of the earth: dirt. This ode is an example of Olds’s poetic subject matter, which is often controversial, unlikely, and thought-provoking.

Sharon Olds—best known for her Pulitzer Prize winning collection Stag’s Leap (2012)—often writes about largely unconsidered topics. For instance, she often writes about the female body: In her collection Odes, she includes a poem called “Ode to the Hymen,” and in Stag’s Leap she includes a poem called “Poem for the Breasts.” These topics, while largely having to do with the sexual and physical body, are examples of how Olds challenges typical topics discussed in poetry. “Ode to Dirt” follows suit, as Olds glorifies something often considered a nuisance—when it is given any consideration at all.

“Ode to Dirt” is a comparatively recent addition to Olds’s poetic works. It arrived in the wake of climate change, the 2015 Paris Agreement and Climate Accords, and is Olds’s answer to a pressing social and environmental question: How can humans and Earth live together in peace?