With the world’s biggest climate change denier strutting back into power over at the world’s second-biggest carbon emitting nation, it’s a grey day to be thinking about the very niche impact of poetry as climate activism. Or so I thought, as I took my lunchtime walk around the wintery streets of Stockton, preparing for my second weekly Declaration drop-in.
Wandering down Silver Street, I saw that there were people doing exciting things with sewing machines and pattern-cutting in the gorgeous yellow Institute of Thrifty Ideas, the activities hub of Festival of Thrift. Popping in to say hi to tutor Lindsay and her group, I learned something that made me so happy – poetry was exactly the comfort some people sought when the news of Trump’s re-election hit!
What was the poem they sent each other to express solidarity, to offer solace, to remind each other of the need for renewed hope and commitment to nature? This one, of course…
The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
Later that afternoon I was joined by the lovely Amy Lord – author, blogger and digital marketer. We had a fascinating chat about the carbon footprint of digital work now that AI is everywhere, sucking up lakefuls of coolant. How can she mitigate against this in her work as a freelance marketer? With a Declaration, might she use her own stated climate ethics as a way to connect with clients who share her values? Can she use her marketing powers to tell the good stories of organisations who are embedding sustainability? As an author and blogger, will she lend her weight to the cause of Fossil Free Books in the wake of the Baillie Gifford litfest-funding kerfuffle? All brilliant thoughts and questions, which Amy has taken away to ponder further…
And for myself, I finally made a Declaration, one which will serve to connect me to the CDE community while I work on a larger creative response and continue to audit my practice. Its a start!
For you – a drawing in progress inspired by Klimt’s forests; looking for the peace of wild things at Billingham Beck nature reserve; close-up of a Van Gogh seen at the National Gallery this weekend.
My next Declaration drop-in will be a walk-and-talk on Tuesday 12th November, meeting 10.00am at the Whitewater Way car park for Portrack Marsh Nature Reserve – location and parking info here.
Want to be in touch about Teesside climate stuff for creatives and cultural practitioners? Email me
Kirsten Luckins 