Celebrating Old Growth: A Conversation with Robin Wall Kimmerer, Robert Macfarlane, and David Haskell
In August 2021, Orion Magazine released Old Growth, an anthology of essays and poems about the lives of trees. It’s a dynamic cross section of Orion’s long history of engagement with arboreal culture, featuring work by Ursula K Le Guin, Terese Marie Mailhot, Michelle Nijhuis, Michael Pollan, and Arthur Sze, and printed as gently as possible – using 100% recycled paper, processed without chlorine, and free of plastic.
To celebrate the release of the book, Robin Wall Kimmerer (who contributes the foreword) held a public discussion with Robert Macfarlane and David Haskell. These authors bring a unique perspective on the legacy of trees in deep time, which they explore in their recent books Braiding Sweetgrass, Underland, and The Song of Trees, respectively. Together, they discuss the idea of the personhood of trees, root communities, and the ways in which humans might foster the growth of our canopy. Moderating the event is Mary Evelyn Tucker, co-author of Journey of the Universe.
Speakers
- Robin Wall Kimmerer, plant ecology, professor, and author of Braiding Sweetgrass
- Robert Macfarlane, author of Underland
- David Haskell, biologist and author of The Songs of Trees
You can purchase copies of Old Growth here.
This event is hosted by Orion Magazine, The Forest School at the Yale School of the Environment, Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology, and Yale Environmental Humanities. Contact yff@yale.edu with questions.
Art by Patrik Svensson