Maybe you, like so many others, perceive environmentalists as lacking a sense of humour. They can be pessimistic misanthropes. And who can blame them? Humanity seems dedicated to rendering the planet inhospitable to the continued existence of the species.
But the Swiss Festival of Health Research seeks to demonstrate that having and expressing a close sense of attunement with our environment, or with negative environmental trends, does not mean there isn’t room for creativity, pleasure, and hilarity.
Which is why you should watch this video of frogs expressing their sense of attunement with the human species by taking part in one of the modern human’s favourite activities: staring at a screen. (It’s also why you should come to our showcase of environmentally-themed poetry, “Save a Tree: Speak a Poem,” which features Magpie Ulysses and Brian Brett.)
Save a Tree: Speak a Poem Saturday, October 18th 2:00 – 4:00 PM Rifflandia HQ 1501 Douglas Street
Nature has often been maligned as a clichéd poetic subject – one that lacks the urgency or importance of poems about systemic political issues and human relationships. But in this day and age of environmental degradation, environmental poetry has a growing political urgency. This showcase will feature poets who write about the environment, and our corrupted relationship with the ecosystems that sustain our species.