Response to “All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace” by Richard Brautigan

Technology and nature are, without doubt, two completely separate and opposite subjects, so for the two to co-exist in harmony in the future is a highly debatable topic. Through his poem “All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace”, Richard Brautigan addresses this matter, but it can still be interpreted in two different ways—either with an anti-technology or pro-technology perspective.

Some readers may interpret this poem as a warning from Brautigan and call for an anti-technology world. Since technology and nature contrast each other so much, a “cybernetic meadow/where mammals and computers/live together in mutually/programming harmony” is clearly an unrealistic scene. During the time period in which this poem was written, computers were extremely large, usually taking up entire rooms. If “a cybernetic forest/filled with pines and electronics” actually existed, the computers would definitely not be like “flowers/with spinning blossoms”, but would rather loom over cute, delicate blossoms, taking away the tranquility of nature and giving creatures the feeling of being watched. Also, Brautigan’s seemingly enthusiastic remarks, which are put in parentheses (such as “the sooner the better!”, “right now, please!”, and “it has to be!”), actually sound sarcastic. This poem can be viewed as a warning to mankind to gradually slow down on technological advances, or eventually, the things we create will overpower and greatly disrupt our natural world.

On the other hand, readers may have a completely opposite viewpoint—one with optimism that supports technological advances, in hopes that someday, technology and nature will coexist. In the third line of each stanza, Brautigan expresses hope for a cybernetic meadow, forest, and ecology. Starting with a meadow, forest, then ecology as a whole, the poet expresses hope that eventually, everything in this world will be technologically driven. Technology is invented to make our lives easier by completing certain tasks in place of the control functions of humans. Brautigan shows anticipation and optimism for a world in which humans can be “free of our labors/and joined back to nature”.

Technology does indeed make our lives easier by carrying out certain jobs for us. The people of Brautigan’s time did not have the chance to experience the advantages and conveniences that technology brings to us today. Thus, it is very likely that the world described in the poem is a positive, hopeful vision of the future and not a warning. Brautigan’s optimistic tone and use of imagery paint a scene of a peaceful utopian society that integrates both technology and nature.