e72 richard wagamese’s what comes from spirit is my monologue about my excitement when  I found a copy of a posthumous book, What Comes From Spirit, by my favorite writer, Richard Wagamese, at the People’s Coop Bookstore in Vancouver and my reflections on Drew Hayden Taylor’s touching introduction.
Script for monologue (slightly different in verbal form)
It’s 2.29am on Sunday October 17th, 2021. I can hear the rumble of the city in the background, but the rain has stopped for a few minutes.
Yesterday, I walked by the People’s Coop Bookstore on Commercial Avenue in Vancouver and thought I saw a new book by Richard Wagamese in the corner of my eye. How could this be? The title was What Comes From Spirit. My heart was pounding. Could this be a new book from my favorite author, who tragically passed away in 2017?Â
Yes, it was, and it was their last copy. I told my wife Sabrina that this was a gift and a signal for me to deepen my journey of ‘radical listening’ in season 3 of this podcast.
I picked up the book and held it in my hand like a precious stone, feeling it’s weight, admiring the design and flipping through the pages…
The store clerk told me they had already ordered more copies. I was happy to hear that. Thank to People’s Coop bookstore.
So here I am, it’s now 2.33am and I’m having trouble sleeping due to jet lag from our trip from Ottawa a couple of days ago but also because I am excited to read this book. It starts with Drew Hayden Taylor’s introduction who said :
the literary gods indeed must be feeling benevolent.Â
Hayden Taylor articulates what I have always felt about Wagamese’s writing:
Richard’s magical tales, in whatever form, had that power to change the world. And they did.Â
They certainly did for me. I agree, Drew, that we can feel Wagamese’s pain and joy, his confusion and understanding in his writing and that we do indeed come away better from it.
For example, this excerpt from page 180 of Wagamese’s unfinished novel Starlight:Â
She focused on that tiny point of light and pushed her hearing out through it.Â
I love that sentence.
Drew ends his introduction by saying that:
if you are holding this book, you are obviously a devotee.
Well, yes, I am.
He suggests that we ‘don’t read the book too fast’. I won’t. He suggests that we ‘soak it in.’ That I will but now I need to get to bed.
Thank you Drew, for your insightful introductory note and thanks to publishers Douglas and McIntyre for this precious book, as the world ponders climate emergency at COP 26 in just a few days, I am grateful that we have one more Richard Wagamese book to anchor us in hope, hope, in its truest sense hope, which is offer a positive vision for our world and how to live each moment in an interconnected way.
I want to thank Richard Wagamese. I hope you can hear me, for being a spiritual guide to many, including me. I feel your presence in my life, whispering in my ear at just the right time and in the right way.
I won’t read any excerpts from the book tonight. Rather, I invite you to discover any of Wagamese’s writings. Many are accessible through your local public library.
I think this conscient podcast episode will be my shortest ever. My goal here was to share my excitement about discovering What Comes From Spirit today but also to tell you about the deep feeling of calm that this book brings me. We should never underestimate the power of art to transform our lives…
I’ll end by quoting Wagamese from episode 19 of the conscient podcast. This is from his novel For Joshua, which regular listeners of this podcast might have heard a few times before, but I think is timely to share here and now.
Thanks for listening.
We may not relight the fires that used to burn in our villages, but we carry the embers from those fires in our hearts and learn to light new fires in a new world. We can recreate the spirit of community we had, of kinship, of relationship to all things, of union with the land, harmony with the universe, balance in living, humility, honesty, truth, and wisdom in all of our dealings with each other.
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e72 richard wagamese’s what comes from spirit est un monologue sur mon excitation lorsque j’ai trouvé un exemplaire d’un livre posthume, What Comes From Spirit, de mon écrivain préféré, Richard Wagamese, à la librairie People’s Coop Bookstore et mes réflexions sur l’introduction touchante de Drew Hayden Taylor.
Scénario du monologue (légèrement différent sous forme verbale)
Il est 2h29 du matin, le dimanche 17 octobre 2021. J’entends le grondement de la ville en arrière-plan, mais la pluie s’est arrêtée depuis quelques minutes.
Hier, je suis passé devant la librairie People’s Coop Bookstore sur Commercial Avenue à Vancouver et j’ai cru voir du coin de l’œil un nouveau livre de Richard Wagamese. Comment était-ce possible ? Le titre était What Comes From Spirit. Mon cÅ“ur battait fort. Pouvait-il s’agir d’un nouveau livre de mon auteur préféré, qui est tragiquement décédé en 2017 ?Â
Oui, c’était le cas, et c’était leur dernier exemplaire. J’ai dit à ma conjointe Sabrina que c’était un cadeau et un signal pour moi d’approfondir mon voyage d’†écoute radicale †dans la saison 3 de ce balado.
J’ai pris le livre et l’ai tenu dans ma main comme une pierre précieuse, en sentant son poids, en admirant son design et en feuilletant les pages…
Le vendeur du magasin m’a dit qu’ils avaient déjà commandé d’autres exemplaires. J’étais heureux de l’apprendre. Merci à la librairie People’s Coop.
Me voici donc, il est maintenant 2 h 33 du matin et j’ai du mal à dormir à cause du décalage horaire dû à notre voyage depuis Ottawa il y a quelques jours, mais aussi parce que je suis impatiente de lire ce livre. Tout commence avec l’introduction de Drew Hayden Taylor qui dit que
les dieux de la littérature doivent se sentir bienveillants.
Hayden Taylor exprime ce que j’ai toujours ressenti à propos de l’écriture de Wagamese :
Les contes magiques de Richard, sous quelque forme que ce soit, avaient le pouvoir de changer le monde. Et ils l’ont fait.Â
Ils l’ont certainement fait pour moi. Je suis d’accord, Drew, que nous pouvons ressentir la douleur et la joie de Wagamese, sa confusion et sa compréhension dans son écriture et que nous en sortons effectivement meilleurs.Â
Par exemple, cet extrait de la page 180 du roman inachevé de Wagamese, Starlight:Â
Elle s’est concentrée sur ce minuscule point de lumière et a poussé son audition à travers lui.Â
J’adore cette phrase.
Drew termine son introduction en disant que
si vous tenez ce livre, vous êtes manifestement un passionné.
Eh bien, oui, je le suis.
Il nous suggère de “ne pas lire le livre trop viteâ€. Je ne le ferai pas. Il nous suggère de “l’absorberâ€. C’est ce que je vais faire, mais maintenant je dois aller me coucher.
Merci Drew, pour votre note d’introduction perspicace et merci aux éditeurs Douglas et McIntyre pour ce livre précieux, alors que le monde réfléchit à l’urgence climatique à la COP 26 dans quelques jours, je suis reconnaissant que nous ayons un autre livre de Richard Wagamese pour nous ancrer dans l’espoir, l’espoir, dans son sens le plus vrai, qui est d’offrir une vision positive pour notre monde et comment vivre chaque moment d’une manière interconnectée.
Je tiens à remercier Richard Wagamese. J’espère que vous pouvez m’entendre, pour avoir été un guide spirituel pour beaucoup, dont moi. Je sens ta présence dans ma vie, tu me chuchotes à l’oreille au bon moment et de la bonne manière.
Je ne lirai pas d’extraits du livre ce soir. Je vous invite plutôt à découvrir tous les écrits de Wagamese. Beaucoup sont accessibles dans votre bibliothèque publique locale.
Je pense que cet épisode du balado conscient sera le plus court de tous. Mon but ici était de partager mon excitation à l’idée de découvrir aujourd’hui What Comes From Spirit, mais aussi de vous parler du profond sentiment de calme que m’apporte ce livre. Nous ne devrions jamais sous-estimer le pouvoir de l’art pour transformer nos vies…
Je terminerai en citant Wagamese dans l’épisode 19 du balado conscient. Il s’agit d’un extrait de son roman For Joshua, que les auditeurs réguliers de ce balado ont peut-être déjà entendu à plusieurs reprises, mais qu’il me semble opportun de partager ici et maintenant.
Merci de votre attention.
Nous ne rallumerons peut-être pas les feux qui brûlaient dans nos villages, mais nous portons les braises de ces feux dans nos cœurs et apprenons à allumer de nouveaux feux dans un monde nouveau. Nous pouvons recréer l’esprit de communauté que nous avions, de parenté, de relation avec toutes choses, d’union avec la terre, d’harmonie avec l’univers, d’équilibre dans la vie, d’humilité, d’honnêteté, de vérité et de sagesse dans tous nos rapports avec les autres.
The post e72 richard wagamese’s what comes from spirit appeared first on conscient podcast / balado conscient. conscient is a bilingual blog and podcast (French or English) by audio artist Claude Schryer that explores how arts and culture contribute to environmental awareness and action.
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About the Concient Podcast from Claude Schryer
The conscient podcast / balado conscient is a series of conversations about art, conscience and the ecological crisis. This podcast is bilingual (in either English or French). The language of the guest determines the language of the podcast. Episode notes are translated but not individual interviews.
I started the conscient project in 2020 as a personal learning journey and knowledge sharing exercise. It has been rewarding, and sometimes surprising.
The term ‘conscient’ is defined as ‘being aware of one’s surroundings, thoughts and motivations’. My touchstone for the podcast is episode 1, e01 terrified, based on an essay I wrote in May 2019, where I share my anxiety about the climate crisis and my belief that arts and culture can play a critical role in raising public awareness about environmental issues. The conscient podcast / balado conscient follows up on my http://simplesoundscapes.ca (2016–2019) project: 175, 3-minute audio and video field recordings that explore mindful listening.
Season 1 (May to October 2020) explored how the arts contribute to environmental awareness and action. I produced 3 episodes in French and 15 in English. The episodes cover a wide range of content, including activism, impact measurement, gaming, arts funding, cross-sectoral collaborations, social justice, artistic practices, etc. Episodes 8 to 17 were recorded while I was at the Creative Climate Leadership USA course in Arizona in March 2020 (led by Julie’s Bicycle). Episode 18 is a compilation of highlights from these conversations.
Season 2 (March 2021 – ) explores the concept of reality and is about accepting reality, working through ecological grief and charting a path forward. The first episode of season 2 (e19 reality) mixes quotations from 28 authors with field recordings from simplesoundscapes and from my 1998 soundscape composition, Au dernier vivant les biens. One of my findings from this episode is that ‘I now see, and more importantly, I now feel in my bones, ‘the state of things as they actually exist’, without social filters or unsustainable stories blocking the way’. e19 reality touches upon 7 topics: our perception of reality, the possibility of human extinction, ecological anxiety and ecological grief, hope, arts, storytelling and the wisdom of indigenous cultures. The rest of season 2 features interviews with thought leaders about their responses and reactions to e19 reality.
my professional services
I’ve been retired from the Canada Council for the Arts since September 15, 2020 where I served as a senior strategic advisor in arts granting (2016-2020) and manager of the Inter-Arts Office (1999-2015). My focus in (quasi) retirement is environmental issues within my area of expertise in arts and culture, in particular in acoustic ecology. I’m open to become involved in projects that align with my values and that move forward environmental concerns. Feel free to email me for a conversation : claude@conscient.ca
acknowledgement of eco-responsibility
I acknowledge that the production of the conscient podcast / balado conscient produces carbon. I try to minimize this carbon footprint by being as efficient as possible, including using GreenGeeks as my web server and acquiring carbon offsets for my equipment and travel activities from BullFrog Power and Less.
a word about privilege and bias
While recording episode 19 ‘reality’, I heard elements of ‘privilege’ in my voice that I had not noticed before. It sounded a bit like ‘ecological mansplaining’. I realize that, in spite of good intentions, I need to work my way through issues of privilege (of all kinds) and unconscious bias the way I did through ecological anxiety and grief during the fall of 2020. My re-education is ongoing.
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