What has Spoken Word got to do with the climate and nature crisis?
One of the deep causes of the climate and nature crisis is that we have forgotten how to communicate – with each other, with our leaders, with those with whom we disagree, with nature itself. By telling each other stories we can again start to see the world in a different way and to understand differing experiences of the world. Storytelling helps us empathise with each other and build connections between each other, and those skills will be essential as we try to limit the harm we have done to the planet and cope with the disasters we are bringing upon ourselves.
In a more direct fashion storytelling can change the way we view the crisis itself, as this article explains: https://www.theguardian.com/…/rebecca-solnit-climate…
“We are hemmed in by stories that prevent us from seeing, or believing in, or acting on the possibilities for change. Some are habits of mind, some are industry propaganda. Sometimes, the situation has changed but the stories haven’t, and people follow the old versions, like outdated maps, into dead ends…In order to do what the climate crisis demands of us, we have to find stories of a livable future, stories of popular power, stories that motivate people to do what it takes to make the world we need.”
From time to time we might encourage contributors to bear all this in mind, but the most important thing will always be to come together, to listen to each other and to simply enjoy sharing the words.