EcoPhenomic Pulsations

The earth is an ode and we are but one breath. Each word grown carefully, the letters fitting a precise pattern It is a complicated text of course. A language uncommon to most and interpreted variably. The rhythm must be kept,but as we have melded into this poem, the rhythm has fallen away. We come as full stops. We break and twist the words, breeding sentences we desire. What meaning it had has been blurred through the pages. I’m afraid these lines cannot go on, but hope that we can breathe again.

— Indigo Leveson-Gower

(2023)

‘Sound is language’s flesh, its opacity as meaning marks its material embeddedness in the world of things . . .In sounding language we ground ourselves as sentient, material beings, obtruding into the world with the same obdurate thingness as rocks or soil or flesh. We sing the body of language, relishing the vowels and consonants in every possible sequence. We stutter tunes with no melodies, only words’

—

Charles Bernstein

(1998)

It matters what matters we use to think other matters with; it matters what stories we tell to tell other stories with; it matters what knots knot knots, what thoughts think thoughts, what descriptions describe descriptions, what ties tie ties.

—

Donna Haraway

(2016)

Nature by any other name might smell sweeter. I am sitting in my room; I have positioned my chair before my window with my feet propped up on the sill. My laptop sits between my eyes and the exterior environment, ready to catch my thoughts. I feel safe in this space, the temperature is optimal, and my chair is cushioned. From here I can see a snippet of the world you and I inhabit. To categorise: I see several trees, two five-storey blocks of flats, a crosssection of a road and a lawn fenced into a garden. A thought crosses my mind; the only thing not placed by man in this space is the sky, the thought stops mid tracks as a plane comes into view, breaking up the clouds. This is a city. The vast majority of humans live within one of these. We surround ourselves with reminders of ourselves. The city is constructed from elements of nature, into something separate to, but within the natural world. The trees and lawn serve as a small reminder of the natural world; however, they are placed within boundaries, a concrete pathway, a metal fence. Boundaries not to be broken lest they become an inconvenience. Within such a world how can the dichotomy between ‘nature’ and ‘humans’ not be reinforced?

Language as a Tool

How we define and compartmentalise the world is not only a tool to perceive, but a tool that defines how we perceive. We ‘weave the world to word’; the language we create defines the non-human world and how we act within it. (Knickerbocker, S., 2012.) In ‘The Trouble with Wilderness’ William Cronan argues that the idea of wilderness as a pristine and untouched place is a myth that has had a profound impact on American culture (Cronan, 1996). European settlers’ view of North America as a ‘wilderness,’ vast and untamed, led to their desire to conquer and transform. The term in contemporary society is now imbued with a sense of otherness – something to view from afar. Cronan argues for a more nuanced view of the ‘wilderness’ leading to a less binarized interpretation of the environment. This in turn could create a sensitive and holistic approach to ecological thought.

If the goal of environmentalism is to facilitate a significant connection with the natural world and promote behaviours that are more attuned to ecological concerns, then what role does language play? Just as we shape language, can language shape us? John Austin examines this in ‘How To Do Things With Words,’ coining ‘locutionary force’: the core meaning of a word and the ‘illocutionary force’ which is what is achieved by saying a word (Austin, 1962). The ‘illocutionary force’ of ‘wilderness’ led to destruction. Could we transfer this to how we speak on matters of the environment: the perceived meaning of these terms, and what is actually achieved?

New Pulsations

At this moment in time, the age we are living in is often referred to as the Anthropocene. This term ‘Anthropocene’ is mired with meaning that transcends its definition. It is a shifting point in the Earth’s history, where human activity has become the dominant force that shapes the planet and has had an irreversible impact on the Earth’s systems. Coined by Paul J Crutzen, it stems from the Greek ‘anthropo’ (Human) and ‘cene’ (new) (Crutzen, 2006). Donna Haraway argues that by using this term we limit our perception of the world and the way in which we can live in it. It reinforces the importance of humans and of our actions, failing to acknowledge the agency and relevance of non-humans. The ‘illocutionary force’ stops us from acknowledging this and taking action. Haraway instead suggests the term ‘Chthulucene’; this term calls for the hierarchy between species to be abolished and focuses on the interwoven and interconnected nature of the world, including humans, non-human entities, and geological forces; a new ‘illocutionary force’ (Haraway, 2016). ‘Chthulu’ derived from ‘Cthonic’ meaning ‘of earth’ in Ancient Greek;

32 Composting is so hot this calls for a shift in perception to valuing the earth in its entirety and decentring the human experience. She goes on further speaking of ‘Humusities,’ the integration of the study of humans with the study of the earth and its ecological systems. The term is aplay on the word ‘humanities’ and the word ‘humus’ which refers to the organic matter in soil that is essential to plant growth. These terms are grounded in an ecological perspective, unable to be untied.

Words over time have lost meaning. A tree means just that, a tree. With a new approach to language, could we ground them in further meaning? If I look out my window I see ‘a tree,’ if I think and feel harder, perhaps I see ‘a life giver’ cut off from its fellow ‘life givers.’ When I look and see a ‘a lawn,’ perhaps I see a ‘confined monoculture.’ When I look and see an apartment, perhaps I see an ‘isolated world.’ When I look and see a road, perhaps I see a ‘colonising path.’ This view now, is not just a city, it is a battle ground.