The entropy quote is by The Marigold’s author Andrew F. Sullivan, whom I interviewed in August last year. The whole quote is, “Rot is not pure entropy, it’s a repurposing and a rebuilding, in newer shapes we may not recognize beyond a foul smell.” So, welcome to what feels like an actual spring issue of Dragonfly.eco’s news. After a long winter, our temperatures finally have warmed, and after a trip to Utah and Nevada for a wedding, we came home to dandelions and early blooms, like magnolias, dogwoods, and cherry blossoms. Without decomposition, we don’t get new composition. This life cycle allows us to go on, and that, to me, is what spring symbolizes. From rot sprouts beauty and ecological necessity. The black flies are here, but the spring peepers never did their mating calls from the nearby lake this year, and it made me sad, a little empty.
World Eco-fiction Series
This month I talked with Suyi Davies Okungbowa, who wrote Lost Ark Dreaming (out today by Tordotcom!). Suyi is an award-winning author, and was born in Nigeria and lived in Lagos at one time, where the novel is set.
About the novel: Off the coast of West Africa, decades after the dangerous rise of the Atlantic Ocean, the region’s survivors live inside five partially submerged, kilometers-high towers originally created as a playground for the wealthy. Now the towers’ most affluent rule from their lofty perch at the top while the rest are crammed into the dark, fetid floors below sea level.
There are also those who were left for dead in the Atlantic, only to be reawakened by an ancient power, and who seek vengeance on those who offered them up to the waves.
Recommended Book of the Month
In almost every story I read about climate and ecological crises is the human experience—which usually includes the rot of greed, authority, and hate. Recomposition isn’t possible without other book characters fighting for better outcomes. My book of the month is Mary Oliver’s Owls and Other Fantasies, which includes nature poetry and essays. It also has love. Breathing new life into hummingbirds, herons, starlings, wrens, loons, swans, owls, goldfinches, geese, hawks, and more, this book is a journey to a side of life we sometimes forget but need. It also contains my favorite poem, “Wild Geese,” which has the great line, “You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.”
Other News
I spoke about our vacation to the desert above. My daughter got married, I met my beautiful new grandson Wyatt, and we did what we like to do. The wedding was at a mountain lodge in southern Utah, and the morning of the outdoor wedding I awoke to do a 30-minute run in the mountainous, cold countryside; we spent a couple evenings around a bonfire, and the wind whipped around us like an augury. Two days later we hiked in the hot desert and visited a wetlands nature preservation, where I bought Wyatt a stuffed bat. A few days later, we awoke at 5:00 am, ate a hearty breakfast, and went out on my daughter and husband’s boat at Lake Mead. A couple fish were caught and released. These times restored my soul because it needed to be outside of four walls. I have spent a few years playing in the desert during my life, and I miss the warmth and solitude, the endless horizons. But when there, I also miss the loud cacophony of insects, green and wild foliage, abrupt weather, and endless wildlife, which happens to describe where I live now.
Resources
In case you’ve missed these exciting resources, including newest books at Dragonfly, check ‘em out!
LinkTree: Find out more about me.
Rewilding Our Stories: A Discord community where you can find resources, reading, and writing fun in fiction that relates strongly to nature and environment.
Our environmental/nature song-of-the-week playlist goes back to 2015.
Book recommendations: a growing list of recs.
Eco/climate genres: They’re all over the place, and here’s an expanding compendium.
Inspiring and informative author quotes from Dragonfly’s interviews.
List of ecologically focused games.
List of eco/climate films and documentaries.
Eco-fiction links and resources.
Book database: Database of over 1,000 book posts at Dragonfly.eco.
Turning the Tide: The Youngest Generation: Fiction aimed toward children, teens, and young adults.
Indie Corner: The occasional highlight of authors who publish independently.
Artists & Climate Change. This site is no longer being updated but still has a wealth of info. I was a core writer for their team, and I’m both honored and grateful. Look for my “Wild Authors” series there.
Copyright 2024 Mary Woodbury