I was invited to take part in a Crested Tit Collective Earth Day reading of Unnamed Dragonfly Species by Juliana Spahr.
From the video description:
To mark Earth Day, the CTC and friends present a community recording of Unnamed Dragonfly Species by Juliana Spahr. We read as a reminder of two crucial things at this moment in our history: – That more and more of the Earth’s vibrant species are becoming extinct or endangered all the time. – That we humans DO CARE, that we all feel hopeless and helpless at times, but that we are capable of doing more.
In different times I would have gone around the Fens filming different sections of river and perhaps some fields to voiceover. I did try to use an orchid as a prop to reintroduce some of the nature aspect but it was not to be, though I did end up using a candle in the short version (“melting”) after weighing it up against an ice lolly shaped like a watermelon slice. Not pictured: the number of times I stumbled over the phrase “plants in containers” and said “plants icotainers” instead.
It was lovely to be included in the reading, an international one at that, especially in current times where it’s so easy to feel distant from others, and also to mark something so timely.
CTC also held a live poetry reading on the day, which I unfortunately missed but is able to be watched here.
Yvonne Litschel 