We read fiction about characters faced with urgent ethical questions in a wide range of ecologies, both on this planet and in alternative universes, as well as non-fiction on interactions between humans and Earth systems.
This group is an outgrowth of the World Theologies and Alternative Universes group, which morphed, as alternative universes sometimes do.
Everyone is welcome! We’re so open to ideas for future selections. There are a lot of worlds out there!
Copyright law allows us to post excerpts of works, so some readings are posted as .pdfs. If you’d like readings in a different file format, or for more information in general, or to make suggestions, contact Kris at freeman.ks [at] gmail.com
February 27, 2023, 7 PM In Person (SJU conference room at 5515 Phinney Ave. N)
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83082439634?pwd=S1EzWUkwQUZnbGZ0cVhSNkowZm94QT09 Passcode (shouldn’t need it): 738681
Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer, Sections 1-3
January 23, 2023, 7 PM In Person (SJU conference room at 5515 Phinney Ave. N)
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82089063053?pwd=azllUHhwR0puVngzZTB2UDgycVFCZz09
Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer (PDF file Braiding Sweetgrass_Preface_Skywoman Falling_Council of Pecans )
Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest, by Suzanne Simard (PDF file Finding the Mother Tree – Suzanne Simard Preface Chapts 1_3 )
“Are Trees Talking Underground? For Scientists, Itʼs in Dispute.” (PDF file The Wood Wide Web Scientists Debate Whether Trees Really Talk – The New York Times Nov 2022) Article in the New York Times with researchers debating the research on fungal networks described in Finding the Mother Tree and The Hidden Lives of Trees.
“Yggdrasil and the Nine Worlds“, from Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman (PDF file Yggdrasil and the Nine Worlds from Norse Mythology by Neil Gaimen )
“You’ll Never Believe What Happened is Always a Good Way to Start” from The Truth About Stories by Thomas King (PDF file Thomas King the_truth_about_stories Chapter One Youll Never Believe What Happened )
November 28, 2022 7 PM: In Person (SJU conference room at 5515 Phinney Ave. N)
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83335919519?pwd=Y2t6YlhKM1R2azNIRDA4UTNKM3NWQT09 Passcode: 610006
October 24, 2022 7 PM: In Person (SJU conference room at 5515 Phinney Ave. N)
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83664496500
A Prayer for the Crown Shy [novel] by Becky Chambers
September 26, 2022
A Psalm for the Wild-Built Book [novel] by Becky Chambers
July 26, 2022 7 PM in-person!
A Canticle for Leibowitz [novel] by Walter M. Miller Jr
February 7, 2022, 7:30-8:45
Dune [novel] by Frank Herbert
November 9, 2021, 7:30-8:45
The Parable of the Talents [novel] by Octavia Butler, sequel to The Parable of the Sower
October 12, 2021, 7:30-8:45
Good Omens [novel] by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Good Omens has also been adapted in a mini-series, available on Amazon Prime and from the Seattle Public Library.
August 3 & September 14, 2021, 7:30-8:45
The Parable of the Sower [novel] by Octavia Butler
July 6, 2021, 7:30-8:45
Wild Seed [novel] by Octavia Butler
June 1, 2021, 7:30-8:45
The Lathe of Heaven [novel] by Ursula LeGuin
May 4, 2021, 7:30-8:45
The Sparrow [novel] by Maria Doria Russell–second half
April 6, 2021, 7:30-8:45
The Sparrow[novel] by Maria Doria Russell–first half
March 2, 2021, 7:30-8:45
“The Nine Billion Names of God” [short story] by Arthur C. Clarke
https://urbigenous.net/library/nine_billion_names_of_god.html
“The Star” [short story] by Arthur C. Clarke.
https://sites.uni.edu/morgans/astro/course/TheStar.pdf
The Twilight Zone episode “Star” [14 min, filmed low-budget in 1985]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9ru_P5uIJc&feature=youtu.be