Black Earth Institute

Connecting earth, spirit and society through the arts

Black Earth Institute is a progressive think-tank dedicated to re-forging the links between art and spirit, earth and society.

Until recent times, art expressed grander values than commerce and celebrity. Delphic oracle, Celtic bard, African griot, aboriginal orator: all used word and movement, color and craft, to bring wisdom from the spiritual realm to their communities.

In the great tradition of Blake, Yeats, Neruda, Rimbaud, HD, Hurston, Zitkala Sha, Rumi and Ramprasad, Black Earth Institute supports the artist as prophet and visionary, creating a society attuned to earth's rhythms and the rights of all people.

Fellows and Scholars of the Black Earth Institute met for their annual retreat over Labor Day weekend, 2009, in splendid late-fall weather.  Although the Wisconsin summer had been unusually chilly, which meant that tomatoes had not yet ripened in the garden, the gorgeous misty mornings and warm afternoons made for a beautiful few days.

This year’s meeting centered on the new science of empathy, which suggests that human beings are hard-wired for the ability to feel for each other.  Indeed, science suggests that our minds can actually be stimulated by seeing people engaging in behavior, without ourselves moving a muscle.  Words, too, have the ability to ignite empathy (or its sinister opposite, fear) in humans—a scientific finding with important applicability to the work of writers.  The work of Maraco Iacoboni, and George Lakov’s application of such science to the political sphere, formed the basis of our conversation through the weekend.

We also re-examined concepts of commodification as they impact the arts, using readings from Karl Marx and others to examine this issue.  Finally, we examined environmental issues, further exploring Aldo Leopold’s “land ethic” and the emerging science of urban ecology.

A visit to the International Crane Foundation (www.savingcranes.org/) gave us an inspiring vision of what individuals can do that has international environmental impact.  Plus, we got to pick wildling apples for cider, harvest fresh vegetables for pasta dinners, and sing “When I’m 64” to founder Michael McDermott on his birthday.  A memorable time was had by all!

BEI in Boise at American Folklore Society

BEI members will present a panel on “Storytelling and Place” at the American Folklore Society’s annual meeting in Boise, Idaho.   Michael McDermott, Patricia Monaghan, and Mary Swander will participate in the panel, which will reflect the conference’s overall theme of “Examining the Ethics of Place.”  See www.afsnet.org/annualmeet/index.cfm.