Briefly: | Listen to How We Live Now | Please support Enchantment by pre-ordering 🖤 UK/US Hello, While I was writing about crinoid fossils for this week’s newsletter, I read this beautiful piece by Jessica Leigh Hester about ‘sidewalk fossils’ - the imprints left behind in a seething metropolis. As she puts it: ‘the fossils — these little flukes, these interesting accidents — were reminders of small, exhilarating life.’
I paused the Ada Limón interview at that very place too, to play it to my partner. It perfectly and humorously summed up my feelings about life after lockdown. I have set boundaries accordingly. Most people in my life are currently only experiencing me as written words or photos of things I have seen with my eyes in whatsapp messages and emails. In the pandemic I was given permission to protect myself from others, and others from me and I have granted myself an indefinite extension on that permission!
I tried posting this poem "soil," by Irene Mathieu, but the formatting was all cattywampus. Dungy's piece brings it to mind. You may view it here, and it's worth your time!
Love love love the black forager! Will definitely be listening to that on being episode tomorrow. As always, thanks for your wonderful recommendations.
And Drew Lanham is a poet and ornithologist who just won a MacArthur "genius grant." His memoir, The Home Place, is exquisite as is his poetry. https://milkweed.org/author/j-drew-lanham
I also listened twice to Ada Limón (luminous!) and cried out YES to this about bodies and heads. Isn’t that just it?
I love sidewalk fossils and this piece—“peeks into lives that continued.” They do feel intimate. Life’s accidental imprints. My mind always spins stories about how they got there.
Thank you for Dungy’s important Atlantic piece. More books to add to my list. The racial and permission issues here trouble me, too. I so appreciate the way you show domestic and other messiness in Electricity rather than hide or tidy your human experience.
I paused the Ada Limón interview at that very place too, to play it to my partner. It perfectly and humorously summed up my feelings about life after lockdown. I have set boundaries accordingly. Most people in my life are currently only experiencing me as written words or photos of things I have seen with my eyes in whatsapp messages and emails. In the pandemic I was given permission to protect myself from others, and others from me and I have granted myself an indefinite extension on that permission!
Drew Lanham's Home Place speaks of nature and race. His Instagram posts are little poems.
I tried posting this poem "soil," by Irene Mathieu, but the formatting was all cattywampus. Dungy's piece brings it to mind. You may view it here, and it's worth your time!
https://www.thirdstoryies.com/2018/04/04/soil-by-irene-mathieu/
Ahh the side walk/ pavement fossils - love that! ✨✨✨✨
Ah! Wasn’t that Ada Limon interview absolutely amazing?! All the right blend of entertaining, thought provoking and just gorgeous.
Love love love the black forager! Will definitely be listening to that on being episode tomorrow. As always, thanks for your wonderful recommendations.
Big fan from the US. Can't wait to read Enchantment. On the subject of black people as nature writers, I'll just introduce you (in case you don't know them) writers Latria Graham and Drew Lanham. Here's Latria's essay on black people in the outdoor world: https://www.outsideonline.com/culture/opinion/were-here-you-just-dont-see-us/. And links to lots more of her work on her web page: https://www.latriagraham.com/#writing
And Drew Lanham is a poet and ornithologist who just won a MacArthur "genius grant." His memoir, The Home Place, is exquisite as is his poetry. https://milkweed.org/author/j-drew-lanham
Here are some links:
https://orionmagazine.org/article/9-rules-for-the-black-birdwatcher/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/drew-lanham-pathfinding-through-the-improbable/id150892556?i=1000555138465
https://lithub.com/birding-while-black/
I also listened twice to Ada Limón (luminous!) and cried out YES to this about bodies and heads. Isn’t that just it?
I love sidewalk fossils and this piece—“peeks into lives that continued.” They do feel intimate. Life’s accidental imprints. My mind always spins stories about how they got there.
Thank you for Dungy’s important Atlantic piece. More books to add to my list. The racial and permission issues here trouble me, too. I so appreciate the way you show domestic and other messiness in Electricity rather than hide or tidy your human experience.
Bookmarking the burnout article!