Orion January / February 2010

Experience the beauty of the print edition of Orion … More than one of Orion’s fans has called us “gorgeous to have and hold.” We're pleased to provide the full experience of Orion design and graphics in digital form. … and the convenience of the digital edition. You can archive issues in your computer, search the full text for words, names, or phrases, save the whole issue on your hard drive—and, as an added bonus, save some trees! Important note: Save the e-mail message and/or URL you used to get to this page; it contains the password that enables you to get back to this edition as well as back issues. Browse this issue Using the controls visible in the bar at the top of this page. Highlights from this…

READINGS & COMMENTARY Amy Irvine reads her story “Spectral Light,” and Derrick Jensen reads his column “50 Simple Ways to Get O=.” Listen to both on the website, or download them as podcasts. Also, we’ve posted a slide show of additional imagery from photographer Joel Sternfeld’s exploration of Dubai. AUDIO CONVERSATIONS. Orion editors discuss what’s in this issue of the magazine. DISCUSSIONS Share your thoughts about articles in this issue, and read what others have to say. (Please note that discussions are opened on our website as articles are posted there, a process that we extend over the shelf life of the issue.) COMING SOON IN ORION THE CURSE OF BIGNESS Too big to fail? That’s the problem—and just the beginning of it. THE HEART OF A BEAR What if…

FAREWELL to the oughts — a decade that will be remembered for its war on terror, its economic meltdown, and, especially, its distinction as the period when the Western world reached functional agreement that the burning of fossil fuels was destroying the planet’s atmosphere but failed to do anything significant to stop it. What will the teens bring? Things are likely to get worse before they get better, thanks in part to the excesses of previous decades. It’ll be like a movie — only real: hopefully not too dystopic, but hope is no match for the multiple crises bearing down on humankind at present. “The best horror stories take a knife to the anxieties of a time,” writes Benjamin Percy in his review of the movie adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s…

Elizabeth Bradfield is author of Interpretive Work, winner of the 2009 Audre Lorde Prize, and Approaching Ice, forthcoming this year. She is founder and editor of Broadsided Press and lives on Cape Cod. Lawrence W. Cheek’s most recent book is The Year of the Boat. He teaches in the MFA program at the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts in Washington. Hal Clifford is executive editor of Orion. Andrea Cohen is author of Long Division and The Cartographer’s Vacation. She directs the Blacksmith House Poetry Series in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Michael Collier is author of five books of poems, including Dark Wild Realm. He has received an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Martin d’Orgeval’s photography has been widely exhibited. He lives in Paris, where his work…

David Abram’s essay “The Air Aware” (September/October 2009) is absolutely stunning considering the limited ability of the English language to adequately capture the essence of spirit as expressed by ancient languages. Although no words, ancient or otherwise, can fully capture the feeling one may experience at those times when we observe a connection to the vast mystery, Abram has come as close as any author I’ve read. MIKE GUNDLACH Portland, Oregon As a steward of the land and teacher of environmental literature, I am always eager to see how writers grapple with the human-nature relationship. And I’ve often been delighted by David Abram’s unusual choice of words and ideas. While teaching in Albania on a Fulbright scholarship, I was startled by how my Albanian students conceived of collective versus individual…

Editor-in-chief Chip Blake attended the Thomas Berry memorial service at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York on September 26. Mary Evelyn Tucker, a former Orion Society board member, and her husband, John Grim, organized the event. The first Thomas Berry Award was granted to Martin S. Kaplan, another friend of Orion and a longtime supporter of Berry’s work in religious ecology. Contributors Curtis White and James Howard Kunstler teamed up to speak to classes and give a lecture to the public at nearby Williams College on October 8. White was promoting his new book, The Barbaric Heart, and generously donated the proceeds of that day’s sales to Orion. And on October 24, Orion staff joined about sixty other Great Barrington residents to mark the International Day…