An interdisciplinary reading group for people interested in exploring creative approaches to tackling climate change. Join us in reading from and discussing Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge & the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer. In this session we’ll explore the possibilities for forming multispecies communities, and how gift-economy and the language of animacy are key to building empathetic relations with the more-than-human.
No prior knowledge of the book needed, just bring the PDF and a drink or cup of tea!
About the book
Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, a mother, and a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings – asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass – offer us gifts and lessons, even if we’ve forgotten how to hear their voices. In a rich braid of reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return.
Session info
Zoom information will be sent to you in advance via email, and we will let you know which sections we will be focusing on during the session. We will be reading sections aloud during the event, so don’t worry if you don’t have time to prepare.
The section we will read from can be downloaded as a PDF here. The full book can be found online here.
Register here. If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch! Email [email protected].
About BCN
The Blast Creative Network offers artists in Sandwell and the Black Country a free, rolling programme of talks, workshops, reading groups, discussions and social events, and is a space for mutual support, learning and knowledge sharing.