Tag Archive for: ecological emergency

The Sixth Extinction | Elizabeth Kolbert

In her ground-breaking and scientifically rigorous exploration of ecological breakdown, Elizabeth Kolbert reveals how human activity has led to humankind the Earth’s sixth mass extinction event, which is “likely to be more prolonged and severe than the previous five.” Highlighting the loss of charismatic species such as the golden frogs of Panama and the great auks, she emphasises the irreparable loss of biodiversity, the interconnectedness of living systems, and how the disappearance of one species can have cascading effects on the entire web of life. “There is no way to know, and no way to stop, what’s now underway,” she writes. “The only question is whether and how to intervene.”  The book is a poignant but essential read for anyone concerned about the future of the non-human world – and our increasingly precarious existence on Earth.

Read more of our Climate Classics: timeless works exploring themes of climate change and biodiversity loss.

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The Nerves and Their Endings | Jessica Gaitán Johannesson

The body as a measuring tool for planetary harm. A nervous system under increasing stress.

In this collection that moves from the personal to the political and back again, writer, activist, and migrant Jessica Gaitán Johannesson explores how we respond to crises. She draws parallels between an eating disorder and environmental neurosis, examines the perils of an activist movement built on non-parenthood, dissects the privilege of how we talk about hope, and more. The synapses that spark between these essays connect essential narratives of response and responsibility, community and choice, belonging and bodies.

 

Jessica Gaitán Johannesson discussed her book The Nerves and Their Endings with Writers Rebel’s Toby Litt back in November 2022. Read their conversation and learn more about the book here.

The Shaking City | Cath Drake

The shaking city of Australian poet Cath Drake’s debut poetry collection is a metaphor for the swiftly changing precarity of modern life within the looming climate and ecological emergency, and the unease of the narrator who is far from home. Tall tales combine with a conversational style, playful humour and a lyrical assurance.​ The poet is able to work a wide set of diverse spells upon the reader through her adept use of tone, technique, plot and form. She is a welcome new voice for contemporary poetry.

“Cath Drake wants to grasp the world whole. When she looks at the past, it’s with a big rambunctious energy that has implications for the present. These are restless and generous poems, full of the vivid reality of people’s lives. Read them as a guide to staying clear-eyed, combative and caring in unsettled times.” ~ Philip Gross

“Cath Drake’s poems deftly explore conflict and the future of our changing, imperilled planet – in a poem about climate emergency, the narrator muses wryly “sometimes I hold world in one hand, my life / in the other”. This is a collection alive to dilemmas. Her writing is searching, witty and full of compassion, helping us navigate a shifting world.” ~ Helen Mort

“This joyful, exuberant, wildly imaginative collection exhorts us all to unmoor our minds, to “live among the strange and shining.” “ ~ Kate Potts