Title: Dead And Alive (part 1) Sub Title: Being With Ancestors Episode: P056 START: March 20, 2023 ENDS: April 02, 2023 Length: 28' mins Host/Producer: Carole Harmon
Dead And Alive (part 1)
Being With Ancestors
Dark Matter Women Witnessing, an online literary journal founded and edited by Lise Weil of Montreal, Canada publishes writing and visual art created in response to an age of massive species loss and ecological collapse. It is a home for dreams, visions and communications with the non-human world, especially those with messages for how we might begin to heal our broken relationship to the earth. Dead and Alive: Being With Ancestors is a collaboration between Dark Matter Women Witnessing and Writers Radio. Readings and discussions are drawn from the current issue of the journal. Writing by Cynthia Travis, Sharon English, Gillian Goslinga and Carole Harmon is showcased, as well as a conversation moderated by Lise Weil which will thread through the three episodes.
River of Kin by Cynthia Travis
Cynthia Travis recounts the story of her family's traumatic history on an acreage beside the Colorado River. It is set against the backdrop of the natural history of the river itself and its historic relationship with the Mohave people who still live, and have lived for thousands of years, across the river from what was her family's farm.
River of Kin is a story of misplaced idealism which, by ignoring the eco-system of the Colorado River and imposing modern technology and farming methods, created an ecological disaster instead of the modern triumph of food production her father dreamed of.
This is above all a story of redemption, of learning from past mistakes, of righting wrongs of the past through awareness, community, ritual, and the intention to heal.
Cynthia Travis is a writer, photographer and documentary film-maker. Her blog, Earth Altar, features Full Moon and New Moon posts about her relationships with the animals, plants and insects in her home garden, as well as thoughts on peace building, soil health and the wisdom of the breakdown.
She is the Founder and President of the non-profit peace building organization Everyday Gandhis, dedicated to community reconciliation, trauma healing and ecological restoration in Liberia, West Africa.
River of Kin is drawn from Cynthia's forthcoming book: Atlas of Sorrow: A Natural History of Empire and Family.
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