Inga Simpson’s undestory, A life with trees. A taxonomy of Australian landscape
Abstract
This essay focuses on Inga Simpson’s Understory: A Life with Trees (2017) through which Australian flora and fauna become a powerful expression of her ecological activism and bioregional awareness. This will be analyzed by using Riane Eisler’s biocultural partnership-domination paradigm to highlight the relationship between Australian culture and its natural environment, in particular the threatening impact of human beings and climate change. Simpson’s interest in the ‘cognitive’ functions of plants (recognitions, learning mechanisms and remembrance) will also show significant analogies with Monica Gagliano and Stefano Mancuso’s studies.
References
Eisler R. 1987, The Chalice and the Blade: Our History, Our Future, Harper and Row, San Francisco.
Eisler R. and Fry D.P. 2019, Nurturing Our Humanity. How Domination and Partnership Shape our Brains, Lives, and Futures, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Frank J. 2017, Ironbark and stone. Place and belonging in the nature novels of Inga Simpson, in “Queensland Review” 24 [2], pp. 229-241.
Gagliano M. https://www.monicagagliano.com/ (23.11.2020).
Gagliano M. 2018, Thus Spoke the Plant: A Remarkable Journey of Groundbreaking Scientific Discoveries and Personal Encounters with Plants, North Atlantic Books, California.
Gagliano M., Vieira P. and Ryan J.C. 2017, Breaking the Silence. Green Mudras and the Faculty of Language in Plants, University of Minnesota Press, Minneaopolis.
Gagliano M., Mancuso S. and Robert D. 2012, Towards Understanding Plant Bioacoustics, in “Trends Plant Science” 20 (2012), pp. 1-3.
Gelder K. and Jacobs J.M. 1998, Uncanny Australia. Sacredness and Identity in a Postcolonial Nation, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne.
Grant R. 2018, Do Trees Talk to Each Other? A Controversial German Forester Says Yes, and his Ideas Are Shaking Up the Scientific World, in “Smithsonian Magazine”. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-whispering-trees-180968084/ (24.11.2020).
Latona F. 2018, Inga Simpson Is a Writer and Woman of the Trees, in “The Planthunter”. https://theplanthunter.com.au/people/inga-simpson-writer-woman-trees/ (24.11.2020).
Mancuso S. 2017a, Botanica. Viaggio nell’universo vegetale, Aboca, Sansepolcro.
Mancuso S. 2017b, Plant revolution, Giunti, Firenze.
Mancuso S. 2018, L’incredibile viaggio delle piante, Laterza, Bari.
Mancuso S. 2019, La nazione delle piante, Laterza, Bari.
Rickard J. 1996, Australia. A Cultural History, Addison Wesley Longman, New York.
Riem A. and Thieme J. 2020 (eds.), Ecology and Partnership Studies in Anglophone Literatures, Forum Editrice Universitaria, Udine.
Ritvo H. 1997, Zoological Nomenclature and the Empire of Victorian Science, in Lightman B. (ed.), Victorian Science in Context, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 334-53.
Sorensen T. 2018, INGA SIMPSON Understory: A Life with Trees, in “The Newtown Review of Books”. https://newtownreviewofbooks.com.au/inga-simpson-understory-life-treesreviewed-tracy-sorensen/ (21.12.2020).
Simpson I. 2017, Understory: A Life with Trees, Hachette Australia, Sydney.
Simpson I. 2017, Inga Simpson’s Opening Talk for Trees: As Above, So Below, in “Networks Australia”. http://networksaustralia.blogspot.com/2017/11/inga-simpsons-opening-talk-for-trees-as.html?fbclid=IwAR3jpHfNACWUtggI3UR-bGc4AB7BVfkpGbkbz4v2x56r0549QHToc_yMzA0 (21.12.2020).
Simpson I. 2019, Encounters with Amnesia. Confronting the Ghosts of Australian Landscape, in “Griffith Review” 63. https://www.griffithreview.com/articles/encounters-with-amnesia/ (23.11.2020).
Tredinnick M. 2003 (ed.), A Place on Earth. An Anthology of Nature Writing from Australia and North America, University of New South Wales Press, Sydney.
Wohlleben P. 2015, The Hidden Life of Trees. What They Feel, How They Communicate: Discoveries from a Secret World, William Collins, London.
Full Text: PDF
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.