I will happily read anything Kimmerer writes; she brings magic to the mundane. She brings two different philosophies to her study of nature: the detail-oriented rigor of her scientific university education, and the reverence and respect toward the world taught by her Potawatomi heritage. When the two approaches are combined, magic happens: tiny mosses and microscopic creatures are described in detail but also given life and spirit: “urgency for departure pulses through [a colony of moss under threat] with remarkable speed” while putting on “a gaudy display of unbridled reproduction.” Science gives her the means to quantify the changes being undergone by the mosses; her Native heritage imbues them with spirit, promoting even greater understanding. Given her voice, mosses under her microscope become rainforests of activity, with rotifers and tardigrades trundling busily among the stems, desiccating impossibly to specks of dust, only to rehydrate to full functionality once their environment contains enough water once more. (The Three Body Problem aliens do exist!) This is a beautiful collection of personal essays about mosses, but it’s also a celebration of nature, and a plea to let it thrive.
Tag: author-robin wall kimmerer
Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
The subtitle of this book is Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, which pretty much sums it up. I really loved reading this book, which married the nerdy enthusiasm of a trained botanist with the quiet wonder of one who was raised from childhood to regard plants as teachers. Kimmerer is a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, and throughout the book tries to harmonize the surviving wisdom passed down from tribal elders with the strict scientific discipline that she was taught in her Western education. She also ties plants into the threads of her life, finding in them reflections of her experience as a mother. Beautiful and thoughtful writing.