The Language of Trees

February 15, 2023
An homage to trees in poetry, prose, and art. Artist and activist Holten has gathered more than 50 contributions from writers, artists, philosophers, scientists, and others, all sharing thoughts about our indelible connection to trees. Some entries are as brief as a sentence or two: "I am the seed of the free. I intend to bear great fruit," Sojourner Truth writes. There's a recipe for making oak gall ink, which can be used for writing (as it was for the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution) or staining a piece of furniture. Holten includes the lyrics to Radiohead's "Fake Plastic Trees" as well as a song from singer/songwriter Susan McKeown. Some entries refer to particular species: an ancient elm cut down by the British during the Revolutionary War; evergreens, whose tips can be used for sun tea or salt; junipers, apricots, maples, and a baobab, among many others. When artist Maya Lin took on the project of creating a sculptural installation at Madison Square Park, she chose to transport Atlantic white cedars from the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, trees that had died due to extreme weather events related to climate change, to create a ghost forest--temporal, transient, and a stark warning about the perils of climate change, an issue that concerns many writers. Mary Reynolds writes about the creation of the rewilding project We Are The ARK, while Indigenous leader Nemo Andy Guiquita reports on threats to the Amazonian rainforest. William Corwin and Colin Renfrew, thinking about the origins of human creativity, speculate about why Paleolithic humans did not depict trees in their cave drawings. The book is graced throughout with Holten's delicate artwork: dense threadlike forests; drawings of seeds, leaves, and roots; and her inventive Tree Alphabet. Other contributors include Zadie Smith, Amitav Ghosh, Richard Powers, Ada Lovelace, and Robin Wall Kimmerer. Even Plato makes an appearance. Ross Gay provides the introduction. An appealing, celebratory offering with an urgent message.

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