A Living Landscape, an Animate World

You can find the synopsis of this episode, further notes, and a convenient place to ⁠comment ⁠here⁠⁠. I will also periodically update my thoughts on this episode's content at that same link. The key points in this "speaking": Why I still sometimes call myself a poet even though I don’t write proper poetry: because poetry is the most immanent disclosure of reality. Direct experience has a particular rhythm, a symbolic structure. Meaning is unquestioned before interpretation. In spite of our differences from other animals, what is it that allows us to understand the world? We must share a common ontological "atmosphere" with all visible beings in order to understand or perceive them at all. There must be a background of sameness upon which difference can appear. What is completely outside a shared intelligible world would be completely outside of perception, language, or analysis. If the world were entirely green, we wouldn’t have a word for “green,” because we wouldn’t be able to see it as something that stands out from all objects. We could only say: the world is intelligible to us, perhaps because each being shares a common essence. Perhaps "animism" is not the right word, but no word can capture fully the common nature that is shared by everything. Knowledge is inherently dualistic, but reality is deeper: something sensed rather than said. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for future topics, you can email me at [email protected]. You can also check out my website at ⁠www.sondrawriter.com⁠, where you'll find my essays and links to ⁠my memoir⁠. Music is L'épisode cévenol by Circus Marcus, from the Free Music Archive. License type: CC BY-NC.