For the empowerment and enfranchisement of people everywhere, inclusivity is crucial, including inclusivity with regard to different ways of knowing and different ways of being in the world. This is a key factor in the book, Living Earth Community: Multiple Ways of Being and Knowing, edited by myself (Sam Mickey) along with Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim.
The book emerged from a unique workshop that took place at the Oak Spring Garden Foundation in Virginia in October of 2018, hosted by the renowned botanist and evolutionary plant scientist Peter Crane and organized by Mary Evelyn and John. Contributors from a variety of personal and professional backgrounds came together to integrate a diverse array of perspectives on human-Earth relations, including contemplative awareness of nature, Indigenous languages, evolutionary complexity, Confucianism, Shamanism, Hinduism, storytelling, imagination, cosmology, ecoacoustics, and more.
Also, along with the book that came out of this workshop, there is an accompanying series of video interviews with the editors and contributors. You can watch the videos and find more information about the book HERE.
Coordination and collaboration across different ways of being and knowing opens possibilities for humans to learn how to live together peacefully, justly, and sustainably, as diverse expressions of one species inhabiting one planet. When the time came to find a publisher for this eclectic and inclusive collection of essays, one of our contributors (Mark Turin) suggested taking an open access approach to publishing, recommending Open Book Publishers. An inclusive approach to accessibility seemed entirely appropriate for a book with such an inclusive vision.
Working with a very collegial and cordial assemblage of people, we were able to produce a book that enacts the very inclusivity that it expresses, celebrating the diversity of the living Earth community. That celebration is conveyed beautiful in Feathers and Fins, the cover image from the artwork of Nancy Earle.
We hope that this anthology is a source of inspiration, learning, and mutual understanding for anyone seeking a more comprehensive sense of the world.
Photo: Oak Spring Garden Foundation