Julie I simply adore this post of yours! Thank you so much for sharing your learning and wisdom. I've written down the beautiful quote you opened with from Sarah Blondin; I LOVED learning about "Remarkably Bright Creatures" which I had not heard of, and after looking it up on Amazon, this is priceless:
"Marcellus the octopus sees us with such sensitivity and compassion. “Why can humans not use their millions of words to simply tell one another what they desire?”
“Secrets are everywhere. Some humans are crammed full of them. How do they not explode? It seems to be a hallmark of the human species: abysmal communication skills.”
“Humans… For the most part you are dull and blundering. But occasionally you can be remarkably bright creatures.”
This novel now on my To Read list and I LOVE this that you write, "Non-human POVs in fiction are a creative way to challenge human centricity." YES! May more of us wake up to the fact that we are not the only sentient beings living on this planet!
I also love this idea of a ‘Nature’ category on Substack and agree, how is it that it's not already a thing???? Especially a category that recognizes the spiritual aspect of our ecological crisis - doesn't the grassroots nature of how BRAIDING SWEETGRASS became a best seller on the NYT list TEN YEARS AFTER IT WAS FIRST PUBLISHED, tell people anything??? That and the fact that it continues to resonate with more and more readers. I'll stand down from my soap box now😉
And I could go on listing everything that speaks to me in your post, but I will stop there for now. Thanks again Julie! 🥰✨🌟💖🙏🕊️
p.s. one more thing: I love this idea especially and will love to read it when you write it: "I should do a whole post on systems thinking, which we just don’t learn and we really should because the whole world is a marvelous web of interconnecting, interdependent systems of people, technology and nature."
Thank you Julie, this is a beautiful compilation of life stuff, beautiful and sad all at once. I loved Shelby Van Pelt's amazing book and did not know she is here on Substack so thank you for sharing that. It was wonderful to see the picture of you and Adam and your families! I could deeply appreciate your response to the Devlin show having had the same thing many times over (although not with that show). I guess we take home the message that anything IS possible for us, the Universe is saying 'and this is for you if you reach'...even now.
Fun recap! I was fully intending to transcribe that conversation about sails and saints into my Detail Diary recap as well but forgot, so I'm glad you highlighted it!
Thank you for the quote! I enjoyed our chat so much - it made my day! It’s been a little while since I had toddlers tugging but the metaphor enlivened my thinking! For the record I would have voted for a Tippett-style interview but I look forward to them all the same!
Yay for Wendell Berry, whose work has challenged me, guided me, spoke to my heart, and at times, comforted me. He was always my idea of how I wanted to live my own life, except a few differences here and there.
I’m look forward to your new series, but I have a question: how is it that you always do these series about my favorite authors?
Julie - love this type of short synopsis that gives us a peek into your week. Great stuff. Jealous of your meetup with Adam who is a phenomenal writer. Here in rural Tennessee I don't know of many other Substack writers to have a meetup with. Always enjoy your work. I am looking forward to the interview series.
I was late to the interview poll, but I think the Berry and the Tippett would have had my vote. Sorry, but Proust has always put me to sleep, just like his present-day mini-me, Knausgaard.
And how cool to see you meeting up with Adam, whose work I've enjoyed on Inner Life. I've yet to meet other Substackers in the flesh who I didn't know prior to joining the platform. But I have just such a rendezvous planned for May and hope to write about it.
“In a few words, please tell me why you’re calling.”
“I am happy to tell another human why I am calling, but I do not share my life with things that cannot love me in return. Sorry, HAL.”
Julie I simply adore this post of yours! Thank you so much for sharing your learning and wisdom. I've written down the beautiful quote you opened with from Sarah Blondin; I LOVED learning about "Remarkably Bright Creatures" which I had not heard of, and after looking it up on Amazon, this is priceless:
"Marcellus the octopus sees us with such sensitivity and compassion. “Why can humans not use their millions of words to simply tell one another what they desire?”
“Secrets are everywhere. Some humans are crammed full of them. How do they not explode? It seems to be a hallmark of the human species: abysmal communication skills.”
“Humans… For the most part you are dull and blundering. But occasionally you can be remarkably bright creatures.”
This novel now on my To Read list and I LOVE this that you write, "Non-human POVs in fiction are a creative way to challenge human centricity." YES! May more of us wake up to the fact that we are not the only sentient beings living on this planet!
I also love this idea of a ‘Nature’ category on Substack and agree, how is it that it's not already a thing???? Especially a category that recognizes the spiritual aspect of our ecological crisis - doesn't the grassroots nature of how BRAIDING SWEETGRASS became a best seller on the NYT list TEN YEARS AFTER IT WAS FIRST PUBLISHED, tell people anything??? That and the fact that it continues to resonate with more and more readers. I'll stand down from my soap box now😉
And I could go on listing everything that speaks to me in your post, but I will stop there for now. Thanks again Julie! 🥰✨🌟💖🙏🕊️
p.s. one more thing: I love this idea especially and will love to read it when you write it: "I should do a whole post on systems thinking, which we just don’t learn and we really should because the whole world is a marvelous web of interconnecting, interdependent systems of people, technology and nature."
Thank you Julie, this is a beautiful compilation of life stuff, beautiful and sad all at once. I loved Shelby Van Pelt's amazing book and did not know she is here on Substack so thank you for sharing that. It was wonderful to see the picture of you and Adam and your families! I could deeply appreciate your response to the Devlin show having had the same thing many times over (although not with that show). I guess we take home the message that anything IS possible for us, the Universe is saying 'and this is for you if you reach'...even now.
That gorgeous photo of the bridge is stomach turning. A sad day for us in BMore. Thank you for your words.
Fun recap! I was fully intending to transcribe that conversation about sails and saints into my Detail Diary recap as well but forgot, so I'm glad you highlighted it!
Thank you for the quote! I enjoyed our chat so much - it made my day! It’s been a little while since I had toddlers tugging but the metaphor enlivened my thinking! For the record I would have voted for a Tippett-style interview but I look forward to them all the same!
Yay for Wendell Berry, whose work has challenged me, guided me, spoke to my heart, and at times, comforted me. He was always my idea of how I wanted to live my own life, except a few differences here and there.
I’m look forward to your new series, but I have a question: how is it that you always do these series about my favorite authors?
I’m so glad you and Adam got to catch up in person. It’s been quite a week for you!
Julie - love this type of short synopsis that gives us a peek into your week. Great stuff. Jealous of your meetup with Adam who is a phenomenal writer. Here in rural Tennessee I don't know of many other Substack writers to have a meetup with. Always enjoy your work. I am looking forward to the interview series.
I was late to the interview poll, but I think the Berry and the Tippett would have had my vote. Sorry, but Proust has always put me to sleep, just like his present-day mini-me, Knausgaard.
And how cool to see you meeting up with Adam, whose work I've enjoyed on Inner Life. I've yet to meet other Substackers in the flesh who I didn't know prior to joining the platform. But I have just such a rendezvous planned for May and hope to write about it.