b. 1953
This month’s HerStory recipient was the first one we chose as we compiled our list. It’s also maybe the most difficult of them all to write, because we could literally write an entire book on how much we love Robin Wall Kimmerer’s writings and theories and entire person. It feels like a big responsibility to talk about her and the effect her writing has had on our hearts and souls, and if this is your first introduction to her, we find ourselves jealous that you get to experience her for the first time.
Lorajean likes to say that Braiding Sweetgrass feels like sacred text. It is a foray into the most beautiful relationship with nature and the natural world you’ve maybe ever read. Kimmerer is a botanist and a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, and her writings effortlessly fuse these two perspectives into a new/old way of communing with, learning from, and being in nature. Each story in Braiding Sweetgrass and her earlier book, Gathering Moss takes you into a different part of Kimmerer’s life and work, both of which are beautifully intertwined. Reciprocity is the belief that underlies all of her work; not only feeling connected to the natural world in a way that sometimes seems almost out of reach in our modern society, but communing with, sharing with, and giving back to nature in a way that it feels like our current society, based in white supremacy and deeply steeped in capitalism, actively revolts against.
We recommend listening to Kimmerer’s books, as her voice has a soothing cadence, and you can feel the connection to nature in her voice and stories. You might find yourself tearing up, or texting your bestie as you hear her stories. You may find yourself regaling your family with summaries at dinner, hugging your loved ones a bit tighter, planning more outdoor time and trips to clean up the natural world around you. You might start plotting your vegetable garden for next Spring, you might squat down to gaze at the mosses surrounding you a bit more. And, as we face a future in which our climate is in peril, you may find yourself caring a bit more about the natural world and working to incorporate that care more and more into your daily life.
Our Braiding Sweetgrass colorway was created to echo the aesthetics, not only of the book cover, but of the sweetgrass itself the book centers its story around. Our hope for you is that you enjoy this colorway, and the project you make from it, as you listen to the soothing sounds and beautiful stories that make up Robin Wall Kimmmerer’s writing and speaking. Search out some of her online lectures, too, if you can. You won’t be sorry, that we can guarantee.
Books by Robin Wall Kimmerer:
- Braiding Sweetgrass
- Gathering Moss
Want more like this? Here are some other authors we suggest you read/listen to:
- Joy Harjo
- Beth Piatote
- Shonda Buchanan
- Dina Gilio-Whitaker
- Suzanne Simard
- Susan Hand Shetterly