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The Language of Trees: A Rewilding of Literature and Landscape
NATIONAL BESTSELLER "Inspiring. . . . insights that are scientific, intimate and surprising. . . . a call to action for those who still care."― The Washington Post Inspired by forests, trees, leaves, roots, and seeds, The Language of A Rewilding of Literature and Landscape invites readers to discover an unexpected and imaginative language to better read and write the natural world around us and reclaim our relationship with it. In this gorgeously illustrated and deeply thoughtful collection, Katie Holten gifts readers her tree alphabet and uses it to masterfully translate and illuminate beloved lost and new, original writing in praise of the natural world. With an introduction from Ross Gay, and featuring writings from over fifty contributors including Ursula K. Le Guin, Ada Limón, Robert Macfarlane, Zadie Smith, Radiohead, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, James Gleick, Elizabeth Kolbert, Plato, and Robin Wall Kimmerer, Holten illustrates each selection with an abiding love and reverence for the magic of trees. She guides readers on a journey from creation myths and cave paintings to the death of a 3,500-year-old cypress tree, from Tree Clocks in Mongolia and forest fragments in the Amazon to the language of fossil poetry, unearthing a new way to see the natural beauty all around us and an urgent reminder of what could happen if we allow it to slip away. The Language of Trees considers our relationship with literature and landscape, resulting in an astonishing fusion of storytelling and art and a deeply beautiful celebration of trees through the ages.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published April 4, 2023
About the author
Katie Holten
6 books31 followersKatie Holten is an artist, activist and bestselling author. Her book The Language of Trees was published in 2023.
In 2003, she represented Ireland at the Venice Biennale. She has had solo exhibitions at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, the Nevada Museum of Art, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, and Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane.
Her work investigates the entangled relationships between humans and the natural world. She has created Tree Alphabets, a Stone Alphabet, and a Wildflower Alphabet to share the joy she finds in her love of the more-than-human world.
Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Artforum, and frieze. She is a visiting lecturer at the New School of the Anthropocene. If she could be a tree, she would be an Oak.
In 2003, she represented Ireland at the Venice Biennale. She has had solo exhibitions at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, the Nevada Museum of Art, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, and Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane.
Her work investigates the entangled relationships between humans and the natural world. She has created Tree Alphabets, a Stone Alphabet, and a Wildflower Alphabet to share the joy she finds in her love of the more-than-human world.
Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Artforum, and frieze. She is a visiting lecturer at the New School of the Anthropocene. If she could be a tree, she would be an Oak.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 130 reviews
October 16, 2023
Beautifully illustrated and written in the secret alphabet called Trees (a font created by the illustrator of this book, Katie Holten, inspired by the medieval Ogham, Ireland’s Tree Alphabet) and!!! printed in velvety and superb deep green ink, The Language of Trees is a “love letter to our vanishing world”, a collection of stories, musings, songs, recipes, sentences, poems and thoughts related to trees and their role in Nature and our lives.
This anthology contains works by famous activists and authors, it spans space and time (it goas as far back as including Plato), and is perfect for a sporadic reading rather than one done in a rush: the texts are short and easily digestible, but still impactful, and they lend themselves to an exercise in recollection.
It’s divided in different sections, each related to different parts of a tree, or the relationship the trees have with the outside world of their forest, and the texts contained reflect that.
It’s a very pretty book, but I found that it doesn’t really give its all in the digital format: it’s a bit difficult to read and the font Trees, when used for full texts, is all mashed together (it gives a natural rendition of a forest, but it’s pretty illegible). I’m sure that in print format it’s a wonderful book to leaf through (see what I did there?), I might consider getting a copy even just so I can display it and look at it with leisure.
Overall a nice read, with authors and personalities whose work I discovered now that I would like to explore and research more.
“I offer The Language of Trees as a celebration of trees and our entangled relationship with them. I hope this book inspires us to consider how our human nature might re-merge with the state of nature. The book is also a call to action. An ecological civilization based on Rights of Nature is a survival imperative. Please join me in declaring emergency and advocating for the Rights of Nature, the Rights of Trees, Forests, Peatlands, Rivers, and Planet Earth.”
Access to the ARC acquired thanks to NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This anthology contains works by famous activists and authors, it spans space and time (it goas as far back as including Plato), and is perfect for a sporadic reading rather than one done in a rush: the texts are short and easily digestible, but still impactful, and they lend themselves to an exercise in recollection.
It’s divided in different sections, each related to different parts of a tree, or the relationship the trees have with the outside world of their forest, and the texts contained reflect that.
It’s a very pretty book, but I found that it doesn’t really give its all in the digital format: it’s a bit difficult to read and the font Trees, when used for full texts, is all mashed together (it gives a natural rendition of a forest, but it’s pretty illegible). I’m sure that in print format it’s a wonderful book to leaf through (see what I did there?), I might consider getting a copy even just so I can display it and look at it with leisure.
Overall a nice read, with authors and personalities whose work I discovered now that I would like to explore and research more.
“I offer The Language of Trees as a celebration of trees and our entangled relationship with them. I hope this book inspires us to consider how our human nature might re-merge with the state of nature. The book is also a call to action. An ecological civilization based on Rights of Nature is a survival imperative. Please join me in declaring emergency and advocating for the Rights of Nature, the Rights of Trees, Forests, Peatlands, Rivers, and Planet Earth.”
Access to the ARC acquired thanks to NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 26, 2023
Trees are hugely important for our global ecosystem, just how important though, we really don’t know fully. Research is always uncovering the ways that they work and the methods that they communicate amongst each other. They are some of the oldest living organisms on the planet too, with some individual trees reaching 4,00 years old and it is thought that some groups are many times older than that.
The book is split into nine sections such as Seeds, Soil, Saplings, Flowers & Fruits and Tree Time which have over sixty essays by authors such as Jessica J. Lee, Suzanne Simard, Robin Wall Kimmerer and Robert Macfarlane. There are even the lyrics from a song that Holten has applied her wonderful tree font to. The essays are varied and interesting though, as with any collection, I did have some favourites.
This is one of the most beautiful books I have read this year. The fine gold detail on the cover is exquisite. But couple that with the pale cream pages and the rich green ink used throughout, the whole thing is a work of art. Holten’s Tree Alphabet used to highlight the writing she has drawn from numerous sources is the icing on the cake. She uses this for the titles of the essays and to introduce each section. What I did like was the ways that some of the short essays have been entirely recreated in this wonderful font, the pages move from small copses and sometimes dense woodland.
The book is split into nine sections such as Seeds, Soil, Saplings, Flowers & Fruits and Tree Time which have over sixty essays by authors such as Jessica J. Lee, Suzanne Simard, Robin Wall Kimmerer and Robert Macfarlane. There are even the lyrics from a song that Holten has applied her wonderful tree font to. The essays are varied and interesting though, as with any collection, I did have some favourites.
This is one of the most beautiful books I have read this year. The fine gold detail on the cover is exquisite. But couple that with the pale cream pages and the rich green ink used throughout, the whole thing is a work of art. Holten’s Tree Alphabet used to highlight the writing she has drawn from numerous sources is the icing on the cake. She uses this for the titles of the essays and to introduce each section. What I did like was the ways that some of the short essays have been entirely recreated in this wonderful font, the pages move from small copses and sometimes dense woodland.
July 22, 2023
This is one that you might not love everything inside, but can't help but be immensely grateful that there are people out there who care so deeply about trees. And, after reading, must think differently about them even if, like me, you already loved them.
Love isn't enough. We have to save the trees.
"Trees breathe out. We breathe in." -Luchita Hurtado
Love isn't enough. We have to save the trees.
"Trees breathe out. We breathe in." -Luchita Hurtado
July 2, 2023
It has been said by others and it will said by those who pick up this book in the future so I'm gonna jump on the band wagon and say it too...This book is a masterpiece! Absolute beauty of a book, so much care has gone into it's crafting and you can't help but be in awe when you open it up, page after page just blows you away. I've seen some people say this book is a love letter to trees, I think we are way beyond that, full on stalker/obsession territory now...especially seeing as the book is made out of it's subject.
Before I get to the words I'm gonna ramble on about all the extra bits I like, the green font for a start; as somebody with dodgy eyes the slightly off colour white paper and the green font works well, it seemed to draw me in and I end up with my head well in the book. Each piece of writing starts off with a portrayal of the text using the custom made tree font, all the tree text is crammed on to one page, so the longer the piece the more intense the page of trees becomes...some look like a proper forest. The gold foil on the cover is beautiful, each time I picked up the book I'd spend a bit of time letting the light capture it and make the tree roots come alive.
As for the writing we get a wonderful blend of topics and styles, my favourites were those reminiscing about memories of trees from the writers past, the grandfather taking the author to pick cherries as a kid was so moving. You have some sections that get quite heavy on the science and I took a great deal from these, one thing I never considered was the importance of having a mixture of trees in a woods and having a distance between same species of trees to protect from invading insects and diseases. Language is discussed and questions asked about why don't we use pronouns for nature? calling a creature/plant it just keeps us separated from the natural world. Squeezed in with all these important thoughts are poems, art and some wonderful quotes.
This is truly a special book and I feel blessed for having had the opportunity to experience it, you really, really should give this one a go.
Blog review (in both languages): https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2023...
Before I get to the words I'm gonna ramble on about all the extra bits I like, the green font for a start; as somebody with dodgy eyes the slightly off colour white paper and the green font works well, it seemed to draw me in and I end up with my head well in the book. Each piece of writing starts off with a portrayal of the text using the custom made tree font, all the tree text is crammed on to one page, so the longer the piece the more intense the page of trees becomes...some look like a proper forest. The gold foil on the cover is beautiful, each time I picked up the book I'd spend a bit of time letting the light capture it and make the tree roots come alive.
As for the writing we get a wonderful blend of topics and styles, my favourites were those reminiscing about memories of trees from the writers past, the grandfather taking the author to pick cherries as a kid was so moving. You have some sections that get quite heavy on the science and I took a great deal from these, one thing I never considered was the importance of having a mixture of trees in a woods and having a distance between same species of trees to protect from invading insects and diseases. Language is discussed and questions asked about why don't we use pronouns for nature? calling a creature/plant it just keeps us separated from the natural world. Squeezed in with all these important thoughts are poems, art and some wonderful quotes.
This is truly a special book and I feel blessed for having had the opportunity to experience it, you really, really should give this one a go.
Blog review (in both languages): https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2023...
February 15, 2024
The Language of Trees is a publication by Katie Holten, in which she introduces readers to her Tree Alphabet and to a series of reflections on trees from a variety of authors. I got this as an e-ARC from NetGalley, and so was unable to really see the illustrations or the Tree Alphabet. As a result, I can't really speak to that part of this book. I did, however, really enjoy the reflections on trees. I am a big tree fan and I loved the collection of essays, poetry, and other pieces of work about trees. Even without the artwork, I enjoyed this a lot, so I imagine the finished version is just lovely.
Thanks so much to Katie Holten and Elliott & Thompson for this ARC!
Thanks so much to Katie Holten and Elliott & Thompson for this ARC!
June 27, 2023
Typical of an anthology, there’s some real gobbledygook sprinkled in here, but there’s also some gold. Gonna go learn Ogham now.
September 15, 2023
quick read but this was a lot different than i was expecting. for the most part i enjoyed it. there were a few entries that made me feel like they were written in simlish though, like i swear some of it was straight up gibberish
October 28, 2023
An anthology of essays, most published first elsewhere, about the natural world, and of course trees. The essays appear in a regular font and are also "translated" into the tree font that provides a striking visual "forest" for each essay.
July 20, 2023
A stunning international collaboration that reveals how trees make our world, change our minds and rewild our lives – from root to branch to seed.
In this beautifully illustrated collection, artist Katie Holten gifts readers her visual Tree Alphabet and uses it to masterfully translate and illuminate pieces from some of the world’s most exciting writers and artists, activists and ecologists.
Holten guides us on a journey from prehistoric cave paintings and creation myths to the death of a 3,500 year-old cypress tree, from Tree Clocks in Mongolia and forest fragments in the Amazon to the language of fossil poetry. In doing so, she unearths a new way of seeing the natural beauty that surrounds us and creates an urgent reminder of what could happen if we allow it to slip away.
This is a stunning and absolutely fascinating collection of art, prose and poetry with a diverse range of contributors, such as Ursula K. Le Guin, Robert Macfarlane, Zadie Smith, Radiohead, and Richard Powers.
Printed in deep green ink, the absolute beauty of this book is amazing, so much care has gone into it's crafting, as you read page after page just blows you away. I've seen some people say this book is a love letter to trees and I can see that myself.
Each piece of writing starts off with a portrayal of the text using the custom made tree font, all the tree text is crammed on to one page, so the longer the piece the more intense the page of trees becomes, sometimes looking like an actual forest. The gold foil on the cover is beautiful.
This is a truly wonderful and special book and would make a beautiful gift for any nature lovers.
In this beautifully illustrated collection, artist Katie Holten gifts readers her visual Tree Alphabet and uses it to masterfully translate and illuminate pieces from some of the world’s most exciting writers and artists, activists and ecologists.
Holten guides us on a journey from prehistoric cave paintings and creation myths to the death of a 3,500 year-old cypress tree, from Tree Clocks in Mongolia and forest fragments in the Amazon to the language of fossil poetry. In doing so, she unearths a new way of seeing the natural beauty that surrounds us and creates an urgent reminder of what could happen if we allow it to slip away.
This is a stunning and absolutely fascinating collection of art, prose and poetry with a diverse range of contributors, such as Ursula K. Le Guin, Robert Macfarlane, Zadie Smith, Radiohead, and Richard Powers.
Printed in deep green ink, the absolute beauty of this book is amazing, so much care has gone into it's crafting, as you read page after page just blows you away. I've seen some people say this book is a love letter to trees and I can see that myself.
Each piece of writing starts off with a portrayal of the text using the custom made tree font, all the tree text is crammed on to one page, so the longer the piece the more intense the page of trees becomes, sometimes looking like an actual forest. The gold foil on the cover is beautiful.
This is a truly wonderful and special book and would make a beautiful gift for any nature lovers.
November 2, 2023
A wonderful collection of thought-provoking essays. My only hope is that one day I write something as important as this. I’m glad that there are people out there that care this much about trees.
October 3, 2023
This book is a collection of writings about trees. It includes some very well known writers to some that were completely new to me. There is factual pieces, recipes, poems and stories. It took me a little while to get into as it felt a little disjointed at times, however as I got further into the book I appreciated the diversity of writing styles. Trees are often an overlooked everyday thing and yet there is so much to say about them!
May 25, 2023
This book is so unique and creative! Using the different tree images was such a cool idea! If you like poetry or compilations of different works this book is for you. If you also enjoy nature and getting lost in the woods these different stories revolving around trees will make you want to be around them even more! This book is simply beautiful!
May 26, 2023
Essays, reflections, and poetry on trees. This is such an eclectic little book, but is an absolute delight to read.
June 27, 2023
One of the most beautiful books!
October 29, 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed reading these varied essays and excerpts of tree-focused nature writing. Some left me with lots of food for thought, and those are the standouts that I’ll be thinking about and telling people about for a while. I’m also absolutely going to be downloading Katie Holten’s tree font since it blends my childhood love of codes/secret languages/deciphering symbols with my lifelong adoration of trees… buckle up and get ready for some tree mail, friends.
My favorites: “Branches, Leaves, Roots, and Trunks” by Robert Macfarlane, “It’s the Season I Often Mistake” by Ada Limón, “Two Trees Make a Forest” by Jessica J. Lee, “Being” by Tanaya Winder, “Trophic Cascade” by Camille T. Dungy, “Among the Trees” by Carl Phillips, “Tree Clocks and Climate Change” by Nicole Davi, “The Horse Chestnut” by Charles Gaines, “Liberty Trees” by Robert Sullivan, “All the Time in the World” by Rachel Sussman, “Speaking of Nature” by Robin Wall Kimmerer (my fav essay in the book!), “Of Trees In Paint; In Teeth; In Wood; In Sheet-Iron; In Stone; In Mountains; In Stars” by Aengus Woods
My favorites: “Branches, Leaves, Roots, and Trunks” by Robert Macfarlane, “It’s the Season I Often Mistake” by Ada Limón, “Two Trees Make a Forest” by Jessica J. Lee, “Being” by Tanaya Winder, “Trophic Cascade” by Camille T. Dungy, “Among the Trees” by Carl Phillips, “Tree Clocks and Climate Change” by Nicole Davi, “The Horse Chestnut” by Charles Gaines, “Liberty Trees” by Robert Sullivan, “All the Time in the World” by Rachel Sussman, “Speaking of Nature” by Robin Wall Kimmerer (my fav essay in the book!), “Of Trees In Paint; In Teeth; In Wood; In Sheet-Iron; In Stone; In Mountains; In Stars” by Aengus Woods
June 23, 2024
Opnieuw een "toeval" boek dat ik koos via Cloudlibrary met als zoekterm "bomen" en wat een boek! Zoveel moois, boeiends, zo leerrijk maar ook confronterend. En dan telkens dat mooie "tree font". Het deed me enkel meer zin krijgen om dit boek in hardcover formaat te lezen (oké ik bedoel hebben) want dat groen en die bomen, dat moet nog veel mooier zijn dan via de app of op de e-reader. En de teksten zijn van die aard dat ik ze zeker zou kunnen herlezen!
Quote: "Trees, thank you! You breathe out, so we can breathe in."
Quote: "Trees, thank you! You breathe out, so we can breathe in."
Read
August 21, 2023"It's easier for people to imagine the end of the world than the end of consumer capitalism."
An anthology 🌳🌲
Robin Wall Kimmerer's piece about using language to affirm our relationship with the natural world was a clear standout for me. Nature is not "it" and results in us numbing our responsibilities to the living world.
Some more interesting points:
-gun reform program in Mexico that transforms guns into shovels, which are then used to plant trees (!!!!)
-tree migration patterns are being impacted by climate change
I find anthologies hard to recommend because they must be read slowly. I wish it was more cohesive... and there is a lot of fluff... but this was fitting for me during some time away amongst the trees 💚
An anthology 🌳🌲
Robin Wall Kimmerer's piece about using language to affirm our relationship with the natural world was a clear standout for me. Nature is not "it" and results in us numbing our responsibilities to the living world.
Some more interesting points:
-gun reform program in Mexico that transforms guns into shovels, which are then used to plant trees (!!!!)
-tree migration patterns are being impacted by climate change
I find anthologies hard to recommend because they must be read slowly. I wish it was more cohesive... and there is a lot of fluff... but this was fitting for me during some time away amongst the trees 💚
July 13, 2024
The wonder of a forest in a book.
July 24, 2023
A stunning international collaboration that reveals how trees make our world, change our minds and rewild our lives – from root to branch to seed.
In this beautifully illustrated collection, artist Katie Holten gifts readers her visual Tree Alphabet and uses it to masterfully translate and illuminate pieces from some of the world’s most exciting writers and artists, activists and ecologists.
Holten guides us on a journey from prehistoric cave paintings and creation myths to the death of a 3,500 year-old cypress tree, from Tree Clocks in Mongolia and forest fragments in the Amazon to the language of fossil poetry. In doing so, she unearths a new way of seeing the natural beauty that surrounds us and creates an urgent reminder of what could happen if we allow it to slip away.
This is a stunning and absolutely fascinating collection of art, prose and poetry with a diverse range of contributors, such as Ursula K. Le Guin, Robert Macfarlane, Zadie Smith, Radiohead, and Richard Powers.
Printed in deep green ink, the absolute beauty of this book is amazing, so much care has gone into it's crafting, as you read page after page just blows you away. I've seen some people say this book is a love letter to trees and I can see that myself.
Each piece of writing starts off with a portrayal of the text using the custom made tree font, all the tree text is crammed on to one page, so the longer the piece the more intense the page of trees becomes, sometimes looking like an actual forest. The gold foil on the cover is beautiful.
This is a truly wonderful and special book and would make a beautiful gift for any nature lovers.
In this beautifully illustrated collection, artist Katie Holten gifts readers her visual Tree Alphabet and uses it to masterfully translate and illuminate pieces from some of the world’s most exciting writers and artists, activists and ecologists.
Holten guides us on a journey from prehistoric cave paintings and creation myths to the death of a 3,500 year-old cypress tree, from Tree Clocks in Mongolia and forest fragments in the Amazon to the language of fossil poetry. In doing so, she unearths a new way of seeing the natural beauty that surrounds us and creates an urgent reminder of what could happen if we allow it to slip away.
This is a stunning and absolutely fascinating collection of art, prose and poetry with a diverse range of contributors, such as Ursula K. Le Guin, Robert Macfarlane, Zadie Smith, Radiohead, and Richard Powers.
Printed in deep green ink, the absolute beauty of this book is amazing, so much care has gone into it's crafting, as you read page after page just blows you away. I've seen some people say this book is a love letter to trees and I can see that myself.
Each piece of writing starts off with a portrayal of the text using the custom made tree font, all the tree text is crammed on to one page, so the longer the piece the more intense the page of trees becomes, sometimes looking like an actual forest. The gold foil on the cover is beautiful.
This is a truly wonderful and special book and would make a beautiful gift for any nature lovers.
June 16, 2023
A fascinating collection of art, prose and poetry with a diverse range of contributors.
Katie gives each letter of the alphabet a delightful drawing, ranging from Apple to Redwood and ending with Zelkova.
The Alphabet Tree is used to begin each chapter.
Topics range from 'Fake Plastic Trees' by Radiohead to 'Under a Plane Tree' Plato.
I particularly enjoyed the chapter on the medicinal uses of trees. This includes a recipe on how to make Sun Tea and Conifer Seasoning Salt.
I was interested to learn how Japanese farmers protect their baby apples with wax paper bags during the growing season.
A charming book. I would highly recommend.
I quote from the book - He who plants a tree
Plants a hope
Katie gives each letter of the alphabet a delightful drawing, ranging from Apple to Redwood and ending with Zelkova.
The Alphabet Tree is used to begin each chapter.
Topics range from 'Fake Plastic Trees' by Radiohead to 'Under a Plane Tree' Plato.
I particularly enjoyed the chapter on the medicinal uses of trees. This includes a recipe on how to make Sun Tea and Conifer Seasoning Salt.
I was interested to learn how Japanese farmers protect their baby apples with wax paper bags during the growing season.
A charming book. I would highly recommend.
I quote from the book - He who plants a tree
Plants a hope
June 23, 2023
A beautiful love letter to nature and trees. This collection of works is like sitting with a master story collector who is ready to share their collected works and wisdom of human-kind’s relationship with trees. Lovely, poetic, energetic, and heartfelt. If you enjoy time spent connecting with nature, I’m sure you’d enjoy spending time with this beautifully illustrated book.
💕You might like this book if:
🔹 you like books that share collections of work from various contributors
🔹 you enjoy poetry, art, and prose about nature & trees
🔹you find trees an inspiration for creativity
A huge thanks to Netgalley and Elliott & Thompson for providing me with a digital ARC in return for an honest review.
💕You might like this book if:
🔹 you like books that share collections of work from various contributors
🔹 you enjoy poetry, art, and prose about nature & trees
🔹you find trees an inspiration for creativity
A huge thanks to Netgalley and Elliott & Thompson for providing me with a digital ARC in return for an honest review.
May 19, 2023
I've never read a book like this before. It was very different. I love the cover and the cool sleeve design. The content is varied from poems, recipes and many stories with trees as the focal point. Unfortunately for me most of the writing wasn't my style. I struggled to understand a lot of it as it was way "out there" or over my head. The concept of making an alphabet using trees was weird too. I don't really get the reason. I learned a few things that made reading this worthwhile but it just wasn't for me.
May 25, 2023
This book is so unique and creative! Using the different tree images was such a cool idea! If you like poetry or compilations of different works this book is for you. If you also enjoy nature and getting lost in the woods these different stories revolving around trees will make you want to be around them even more! This book is simply beautiful!
October 10, 2023
Trees are fascinating and somehow we know a lot about the biology but not so much about them in general.
This is a good book, informative and well written.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
This is a good book, informative and well written.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
June 20, 2023
The language of trees gives all kinds of information from stories about trees, poems, and recipes. This book is gorgeous. Any tree lover would enjoy.
October 3, 2023
It was a wonderful book that made me love trees even more than I already do. Like all collections, there were some I enjoyed, and some I didn’t like nearly as much. All in all a solid book!
The only issue I had was that the book is called “The Language of Trees” and in the afterword Katie talks about her “language of trees”. How “translating” the language we can reconnect and begin the relearn what it is to respect and understand trees. Which I think I would have appreciated the sentiment more of her language of trees had been an actual new language. She just took the English alphabet and made each letter a picture of a tree to represent it. It wasn’t a creation of a whole new language, it was the same language in a fun new font.
Within the book itself, in “Speaking of Nature”, Robin talks about the large disconnect the English language has with treating objects(trees included) with a very cold language. Where Native American language treats them with a more embracing meaning. It just seems shortsighted to me, that a book containing an entire section on how the English language isn’t known for acknowledging them as beings, then takes the English language and uses it as a baseline for the “Language of Trees”. Katie then proceeds to go on about how we need to use language to reconnect with trees,,,,,,,,,,,,
It’s way to late at night to try and pull my thoughts together coherently about this but all in all, lovely book.
The only issue I had was that the book is called “The Language of Trees” and in the afterword Katie talks about her “language of trees”. How “translating” the language we can reconnect and begin the relearn what it is to respect and understand trees. Which I think I would have appreciated the sentiment more of her language of trees had been an actual new language. She just took the English alphabet and made each letter a picture of a tree to represent it. It wasn’t a creation of a whole new language, it was the same language in a fun new font.
Within the book itself, in “Speaking of Nature”, Robin talks about the large disconnect the English language has with treating objects(trees included) with a very cold language. Where Native American language treats them with a more embracing meaning. It just seems shortsighted to me, that a book containing an entire section on how the English language isn’t known for acknowledging them as beings, then takes the English language and uses it as a baseline for the “Language of Trees”. Katie then proceeds to go on about how we need to use language to reconnect with trees,,,,,,,,,,,,
It’s way to late at night to try and pull my thoughts together coherently about this but all in all, lovely book.
December 27, 2023
Stunning book - usually I’m quite bad at reading books on my subject - but this allowed so many ways of knowing I didn’t feel bored I felt refreshed to be taken out of academia and heartened when essays taking a more academic or western scientific perspective, we able to fall in line. What is my goal if not to do science like an art - with the attention of care and love and perhaps even a bit of genuine bias.
September 5, 2023
I was worried I'd be bored, but I wasn't! And there was truly only one essay in here I didn't enjoy, so if you like books and nature, give this one a try. Reading it feels like an exercise for your brain, in a good way of course.
October 5, 2023
Beautiful, thought provoking-- inclusion of a vast range of materials from poetry to short essays (longest pieces 5 pages) that take in all the aspects of trees. The section on ogham and libraries were two of my favorites along with the piece written by the author of Braiding Sweet Grass. Definitely going to download the Tree Font.
July 15, 2023
I would have liked this to be a bit more.... Focused? Standardized? Some was VERY SCIENCEY and some was VERY *feely* and, while I love both things, it was hard to flip my brain back and forth.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 130 reviews