Hearth

August 27, 2018
This anthology of prose, poetry, and photography from authors around the world, edited by environmental advocate O’Connor and author Smith (Homestead), undertakes a thoughtful, at times poignant exploration of the idea of the hearth in the present era. Each author responds to the question of what a hearth means, be it a literal fireplace, family gathering place, public square, or symbolic center. The authors also interrogate what it means to have a hearth, or to lose one. In “Heaarth,” environmentalist Bill McKibben talks about community and introspection at a campfire; in “Kilauea Caldera, My Hearth,” poet Pualani Kanahele claims a volcano as her hearth. In a particularly haunting piece, environmentalist Terry Tempest Williams and conservationist Sarah Hedden discuss participating in a Japanese tea ceremony. Overall, these pieces respond to a widespread sense of displacement and division by expressing a yearning for centeredness, as well as a fear that the hearth, and the sense of belonging it symbolizes, are disappearing from contemporary life. Thought-provoking, meditative, mournful, and comforting for readers who seek a connection to purpose and meaning, the anthology acts as a hearth of its own.

October 15, 2018
The hearth, a redolent word containing heart and earth, has been the anchor for home and community since humankind's first stone-encircled fires beneath the starry sky. But what does the concept of a place of warmth, security, sustenance, and sharing mean in this time of disruption, refugees, and climate change? Smith (Crossing the Plains with Bruno, 2015) and environmental and arts advocate O'Connor invited poets and writers from around the world to reflect on the hearth as key to their lives. The outcome is a simmering collection of 32 provocative and stunning works, along with photographs by Sebasti�o Salgado. Present are distinguished environmental witnesses, among them Barry Lopez, Gretel Ehrlich, Terry Tempest Williams, and Bill McKibben, who avers that though the internet seems like our collective hearth, it's actually an anti-hearth. Natasha Trethewey writes of public memorials and private pain; Luis Alberti Urrea, of borderlands. In diverse tales of displacement, Andrew Lam, Boey Kim Cheng, Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, Kavery Nambisan, and Pico Iyer evoke hearths lost and found. Ultimately, this profound and radiant volume reveals that hearths take many forms, including a book.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)