Elementals Special; ep 5 An Elemental Life

This episode is the fifth and last of our podcast special, in a collaboration special with the Center for Humans and Nature. It is series that celebrates the Center’s series ‘Elementals’ as well as a celebration of the many voices that contributed to the series. It is a great honor to finally shares these episodes with you.

In this episode of the Becoming Nature podcast, we sit down to talk about the fifth and final volume of the Elementals series with editors Gavin Van Horn and Nickole Brown. We explore the themes of kinship, belonging, and the urgent need for awareness of the elemental forces that shape our lives.

The conversation delves into the indifference of the elements, the cultural shifts needed to respect them, and the importance of community and gratitude in our relationship with nature. The episode concludes with reflections on the power of light and an invitation to engage more deeply with the natural world.

Takeaways

• The Elementals series emphasizes the interconnectedness of all life.

• Community plays a crucial role in navigating environmental challenges.

• Gratitude is essential in our relationship with nature.

• The elements can be both life-giving and destructive.

• Cultural shifts are necessary to foster a deeper connection with the elements.

• Poetry serves as a powerful medium to express elemental experiences.

• The urgency of climate change calls for immediate action and awareness.

• We must learn to love and respect the elements as vital forces of life.

• Engagement with nature can lead to a sense of purpose and belonging.

It has been a great privilege to record these episodes.

Thank you for listening.

“We have a job to love the earth.
”

— Nickole Brown

Nickole Brown (she/her) is the author of Sister and Fanny Says. She lives in Asheville, North Carolina, where she volunteers at several animal sanctuaries. To Those Who Were Our First Gods, a chapbook of poems about these animals, won the 2018 Rattle Prize, and her essay-in-poems, The Donkey Elegies, was published by Sibling Rivalry Press in 2020. In 2021, Spruce Books of Penguin Random House published Write It! 100 Poetry Prompts to Inspire, a book she co-authored with Jessica Jacobs, and they teach generative writing sessions together as part of their SunJune Literary Collaborative.

Find her here

Gavin Van Horn (he/him) is Executive Editor of Humans and Nature Press, the author of The Way of Coyote, and the coeditor of City Creatures, Wildness, and the award-winning five-volume series Kinship. He currently resides in the ancestral lands of the Northern Chumash people in San Luis Obispo, California, where you can find him wandering the nearby hills and shores, learning the flowers, trying to go light.

About the series

From the Center for Humans & Nature, Elementals is a new five-volume collection of essays, poetry, and stories that asks: What can the vital forces of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire teach us about being human in a more-than-human world?

Learn more about Elementals at www.humansandnature.org/elementals

Find out where to buy the books here

Elementals Special; ep 4 Earth

This episode is the fourth of our podcast special, in a collaboration special with the Center for Humans and Nature. It is series that celebrates the Center’s series ‘Elementals’ as well as a celebration of the many voices that contributed to the series. It is a great honor to finally shares these episodes with you.

In this conversation, Leora and I discuss the Earth Elementals volume, exploring themes of inheritance, responsibility, and the interconnectedness of life. Leora shares her journey as a geographer and poet, emphasizing the importance of understanding our relationship with the earth and its elements. The discussion highlights the diverse contributions of various authors, the intimacy of storytelling, and the significance of memory and history in shaping our future. They reflect on the power of poetry and the need for cooperation in addressing environmental challenges.We speak to the profound perspectives that emerge from the contributions to the Elementals volume.

NOTE: THE SOUND IS AT TIMES A BIT ‘CLICKY’ DUE TO A FAULTY MICROFON. THIS COULD NOT BE FIXED DURING EDITING. WE DECIDED TO KEEP IT, AS LEORA HAS SO MANY VALID INSIGHT AND THOUGHT.

Thank you for listening.

Takeaways

• Inheritance is complex, involving responsibility and creativity.

• Research should focus on recovering relationships with nature.

• The earth is a living entity that teaches us about life.

• Storytelling creates intimacy and connection with the earth.

• Each author's voice in the volume offers unique perspectives.

• Understanding history is crucial for survival and thriving together.

• Indigenous knowledge holds valuable lessons for contemporary issues.

• Poetry can change consciousness and perspective.

• Cooperation is essential for learning from the earth.

“What earth have you inherited?”

— Kristi Leora Gansworth

Kristi Leora Gansworth (she/her) is Anishinabe-kwe, a community-engaged scholar and Anishinabe geographer. Her professional work draws from Anishinabe legal traditions including relationships and responsibilities to water. She has been involved in collaborations with First Nations in Canada and Tribal Nations in the United States for a number of years, dedicated to supporting the priorities of Peoples and Nations. Her primary collaborative work involves research, writing, and planning for restorative futures. The personal work of Dr. Gansworth as a writer and artist grows from being Anishinabe, involving the practices of cultural knowledge & language learning. Dr. Gansworth also has training and background in certain fine arts including poetry. She maintains ancestral practices which include working with healing medicines, needlework, dance, and sacred regalia design.

Find her here

About the series

From the Center for Humans & Nature, Elementals is a new five-volume collection of essays, poetry, and stories that asks: What can the vital forces of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire teach us about being human in a more-than-human world?

Learn more about Elementals at www.humansandnature.org/elementals

Find out where to buy the books here

Elementals Special; ep 3 Air

This episode is the second of our podcast special, in a collaboration special with the Center for Humans and Nature. It is series that celebrates the Center’s series ‘Elementals’ as well as a celebration of the many voices that contributed to the series. It is a great honor to finally shares these episodes with you.

In this episode I’m joined by writer and friend Nicholas Triolo. We explore the multifaceted nature of air represented in the volume. We discuss its significance in both personal and societal contexts. We delve into the concept of air bars and the economic implications of commodifying air. The role of air in communication and connection. The discussion also touches on environmental justice, the importance of breath in existence, and the power of language and poetry to convey the essence of air. We speak to the profound perspectives that emerge from the contributions to the Elementals volume.

He reads from his essay as well as Ross Gay’s poem ‘A small needless fact’.

This was a rich conversation.

“Air isn’t just empty space; it is filled with life and communication”

— Nick Triolo

Nicholas Triolo (he/him) is a writer and long-distance mountain runner from Missoula, Montana. With an MS in environment writing from the University of Montana (2016), Triolo was formerly Digital Strategist for Orion and is currently Senior Editor for Outside Run and Trail Runner. His writing, films, and photography have been featured in Orion, Dark Mountain Project, Outside Online, Best American Poetry Blog, Terrain.org, Patagonia’s Dirtbag Diaries, Juxtaprose, the Wild and Scenic Film Festival, and others. He’s currently working on a book, The Way Around, about walking in circles, due fall 2025 from Milkweed Editions. 

Find him here

About the series

From the Center for Humans & Nature, Elementals is a new five-volume collection of essays, poetry, and stories that asks: What can the vital forces of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire teach us about being human in a more-than-human world?

Learn more about Elementals at www.humansandnature.org/elementals

Find out where to buy the books here

Elementals Special; ep 2 Water

This episode is the second of our podcast special, in a collaboration special with the Center for Humans and Nature. It is series that celebrates the Center’s series ‘Elemental’ as well as a celebration of the many voices that contributed to the series. It is a great honor to finally shares these episodes with you.

Writers Lyanda Haupt and Hannah Close join me in a conversation about water. We go with the flow of it all, moving through thoughts on how water is essential for various life forms, emphasizing its role in sustaining ecosystems. Lyanda shares her story of the American dipper, a bird that thrives in aquatic environments. The dipper's health is directly linked to the quality of the water and the presence of salmon, which provide nourishment.

Hannah expands on this idea by discussing the concept of Eros, describing how water is a unifying force that connects all life. She states, "Without the ocean and without the unifying integrative force of Eros, there would be no life."

They both share insights into their work, which blends, poetry, creative non-fiction with scientific perspectives, emphasizing the importance of honor and wonder in connecting with the more-than-human world.

Tune in to discover the profound perspectives that emerge from their contributions to the Elementals volume and to hear how water shapes our understanding of nature and ourselves.

They both read from their work as well as share their perspectives on the importance of looking at the world through the lens of the elements.

“I love the ocean because it feels like the last uncolonized place on earth.”

— Hannah Close

Hannah Close is a writer, photographer, curator, and researcher. She is currently making a documentary called Islandness in the Anthropocene and completing an MA in Engaged Ecology at Schumacher College with a dissertation project exploring archipelagic poetics and relational metaphors.

Find her here

Lyanda Fern Lynn Haupt is a writer and naturalist based in the Pacific Northwest. Her work explores the beautiful, complicated connections between humans and the wild, natural world. Lyanda is the award-winning author of several books, including Crow Planet, Mozart’s Starling, and Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit.

Follow her here

“Only a bird will wonder, all these birdly voices came to me from Emily’s poems.”

— Lyanda Fern Lynn Haupt

About the series

From the Center for Humans & Nature, Elementals is a new five-volume collection of essays, poetry, and stories that asks: What can the vital forces of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire teach us about being human in a more-than-human world?

Learn more about Elementals at www.humansandnature.org/elementals

Find out where to buy the books here

Elemental Special; ep 1 FIRE

This episode is the first of 5, in a collaboration special with the Center for Humans and Nature. It is a series to celebrate the Center’s series ‘Elemental’ as well as a celebration of the many voices that contributed to the series. It is a great honor to finally shares these episodes with you.

In this episode of our special, I sit down with nature writer Isaac Yuen and contributor Rina Garcia Cua. We delve into the theme of fire, exploring its multifaceted significance and the personal and collective narratives surrounding this elemental force.

They both share insights into their work, which blends, poetry, creative non-fiction with scientific perspectives, emphasizing the importance of honor and wonder in connecting with the more-than-human world.

Tune in to discover the profound perspectives that emerge from their contributions to the Elementals volume and to hear how fire shapes our understanding of nature and ourselves.

They both read from their work as well as share their perspectives on the importance of looking at the world through the lens of the elements.

““Perhaps the last sunset that truly matters will simply be one seen by those still capable of becoming spellbound at the sight of a fiery disk slipping beneath the horizon.””

— Isaac Yeun

Rina Garcia Chua (she/her/siya) is a creative and critical scholar from the Philippines who is currently based in British Columbia, Canada. Her poems have been previously published in numerous journals, some of which are World Literature Today, Asteri(x), g u e s t, and The Goose: Journal of Arts, Culture, and Environment in Canada, of which she is currently coeditor. Rina is completing her poetry chapbook, A Geography of (Un)Natural Hazards, which is a visual and poetic response to migrant and arriving cultures, liminal environments, and violences of form and language. She can be reached at her website: http://rinagarciachua.com 

Photo by Maude Roxby

Isaac Yuen’s (he/him) creative work has been published in AGNI, Gulf Coast, Orion, Pleiades, Shenandoah, Tin House, and other literary publications. Winner of a Pushcart Prize, his debut nature essay collection titled Utter, Earth from West Virginia University Press weaves together the human and more-than-human world with wordplay and earthplay. A first-generation Hong Kong–Canadian, Isaac is currently a writer-in-residence at the HWK Institute of Advanced Studies in Delmenhorst, Germany.

Follow him here

““After fire there’s fertility and there is life.””

— Rina Garcia Chua

About the series

From the Center for Humans & Nature, Elementals is a new five-volume collection of essays, poetry, and stories that asks: What can the vital forces of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire teach us about being human in a more-than-human world?

Learn more about Elementals at www.humansandnature.org/elementals

Find out where to buy the books here

Becoming Nature: How Loss Inspired a Podcast and Deep Conversations /33

The tables have turned in the episode.

Last year my good friend Rich Skrein asked if he could interview me, for my own podcast. This became a deeply personal conversation through the themes I usually invites guests to explore. 

Rich and I have learned together as mentees, write together in our own little writing group and in May collabing around retreat in the Swedish Forest. It felt like the perfect interviewer to guide me deep into the why of it all. 

We had asked listeners for questions, Rich had asked mutual friends for some and he brought his own. I feel very moved by this conversation. For the opportunity to talk about my friend, who's passing started this whole thing. To talk about what shapes and forms us and the harder parts of life that become important thresholds. 

It feels raw and very honest to share this with you. 

In this epsiode we talk about: 

• Becoming Nature and how it started

• Becoming vs. we are nature

• Honoring teachers

• No BS as a superpower

• Belonging and cultural identity

• Practices for grief and connection

• Dying and the beauty of being alive

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Interview with Stephen Jenkins

• Stefana Serafina

• Interview with Tom Hirons

• Interview with Clare Dubois

• Rachel Corby

“When she died, a talking partner died too, and a philosophical wonder died.”

— Carina

The best way to support the podcast is to listen, share, leave a review, rate and comment. 

Thank you to all of those who have listened and supported Becoming Nature until now.

There is so much more to come. 

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This was a conversation between Rich Skrein

and myself, Carina Lyall

Rich can be found in the woods of Europe and England and is a Forest School trainer, storyteller and author with a profound and enduring passion for the natural world. He works with groups of all ages, building community and long-term opportunities for learning, growth and healing in the outdoors.

For the past 15 years I, Carina have guided people to come closer to nature, their inner and outer wild. I has worked with groups and retreats and has years of experience in holding space for inquiry and connection. The focus has been on community, nature, storytelling and rewilding in a modern world. This podcast is a heart project.

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Join us in the Swedish woods !

Find out more here

Erica Berry - Wovles and the stories we tell about fear. Episode 24

Art by Cille Vengberg <3 - Check her work out here

In this episode I have been so blessed to have a conversation with Erica Berry, author of the book ‘Wolfish- Wolf, Self, and the Stories We Tell About Fear’.

This is a brilliant book that I highly recommend. Ever since putting it down, I knew I had to talk with her some how. And here we are.

We dive into the impact of consuming a constant stream of fear-based stories. From the overwhelming amount of news and information focused on fear and trauma that bombards us in today's world. But also the stories that are ancient. The ancient fear stories that we told, and heard, for many reasons.

We talk about wolves and the history of out of proportion fear that has existed around this beautiful animal.

All of this conversation centered around Erica’s study with wolves, collective and personal fear and what emerges with that - love.

“I think there’s something beautiful in actually thinking about the idea of a lone wolf as someone looking still for connection and actually being vulnerable.”

— Erica Berry

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About Erica Berry

Erica  is a writer and teacher based in her hometown of Portland, Oregon. Her essays appear in publications such as the Guardian, The New York Times, Yale Review, The Atlantic, and Orion, and her first book, Wolfish: Wolf, Self, and the Stories We Tell about Fear, was published by Flatiron/Macmillan in 2023.  She is currently an Associate Fellow at the Attic Institute for Arts and Letters and a writing instructor with Literary Arts in Portland.

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Find her online

Instagram @ericajberry  

www.ericaberry.com.

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Other Episodes you may enjoy

THE ROOTS AND STITCHING OURSELVES BACK TOGETHER STORIES WITH JAN BLAKE

KINSHIP AND FORAGING STORIES WITH GAVIN VAN HORN

MELTING THE ICE IN THE HEART OF MAN WITH ANGAANGAQ

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{CONVERSATIONS WITH THE EARTH} RIVER SPIRIT

THE SERIES 'CONVERSATIONS WITH THE EARTH' IS A COLLECTION OF ENCOUNTERS BETWEEN HUMANS AND THE WILD. THEY EMERGE FROM THE MINI COURSE 'HOW TO BECOME INVISIBLE IN A WORLD THAT DEMANDS TO SEE EVERYTHING' IN THE COURSE THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE SPECIAL NATURE ENCOUNTERS THROUGH ESSAY, PICTURES, POETRY OR OTHER EXPRESSIONS. THEY ARE CONTINUOUSLY PUBLISHED HERE ON THE WEBSITE.

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River spirit

Spirit of the river, clear and pure, flows with ease and beauty. No obstacles too difficult for her to overcome and she does so firmly but tender. Her gentle sounds are soft and soothing, whispering “let go”.

She welcomes me with joy and laughter, playfully caressing my naked body as I step into her cleansing, fresh waters.

Here I fell at home, a daughter of the river.

by Sigrid Fay

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{Conversations with the Earth} A Story by Clara Pagliaro

A story: 

The rain slowly moved in,

the ocean calling her name.

Finding herself walking down nearly bare,

perhaps showing up to be.

Hesitation encompassed her mind as she stood upon the waves 

gently showing her her own currents. 

"Do not fear" sang the sea.

She sat, surrendering and immersing her body in the vast and salty milk of the mother. 

Every hair on her body stood, her breath deep. 

Her mind whispering prayers to the universe,

"Don't let me go, keep me right here"

The ocean pushed her small body back and forth like a child being rocked. 

Her body frozen, desperate to shut

yet every breath releasing discomfort and opening her soul. 

The rain slowly moved in, 

It is only here she can see herself in all her wholeness. 

Mind still, body numb, lost in nature's power. 

It is here she listens. 

Clara Pagliaro