Thank you for mentioning my substack. I want to note that one reason I gave Nature a voice in my new short story collection/novel, In This Ravishing World, was, like Samantha Harvey's work, to offer another way of being in the world, another way to see and feel the world. What if everything is alive? Some cultures seeped in something other than the Western tradition live this way. It would add so much more meaning to our lives and perhaps change the relationship between human and other/more than human. Art can reconfigure how one sees the world, how one experiences the world. Art can revive meaning.
You're welcome, Nina. You're so very right. The arts are powerful when it comes to reconfiguring how we see the world. As a collective, we can see and feel so much more.
Wonderful essay, Alia. I learned more about Wells and his impact on the scientist Szilard and have lots to think about. I too see a prescience and wisdom in arts. Inspired by an exhibit near Los Angeles called 'Storm Clouds' I have looked more carefully at how the arts have responded to the Industrial Revolution in England and US and its impact on climate change through the 19th and 20th centuries and into the present. I reflected on some of the writers in my recent post, "#23 Writing From the Heart". I also believe the arts make the concerns more accessible to people.
Sounds fascinating, Leslie. I'll jump over and read your story tonight. I agree the arts make ideas more accessible to people, and I think it's even more the case in today's day and age where fewer people read the news amid vast amounts of misinformation online. Having said that, we can't assume all artists have good intentions, but artists are generally a good lot 🙂
Alia, this a brilliant essay, I learned so much about H.G Wells and the development of the bomb. And also the story behind the peace symbol. Through art we can imagine alternative futures - both dark and bright - as you argue. I am looking forward to reading Part 2, I wonder which artists you will look too for inspiration.
Hi Kate! Very nice to see your name here. I loved your friend’s essay and looking forward to reading more on this. If you like novels I’d suggest The Ash Garden by Dennis Bock, about a German defector who works on the Manhattan Project whose life becomes briefly intertwined with a survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bombing. Odd timeline in the story, but a good read overall. BTW, B had her brain imaging done on Monday and there is no indication of a tumor. Next we’re going to see a neurosurgeon who’s operated on her in the past to see what can be done about the weakness and numbness in her hands.
Hi Rafael, thank you for stopping by and reading my work. I hope you enjoy parts 2 & 3 when they're published. I'm glad to hear B has been given the all clear for a brain tumor. That must be a relief.
I’ve been worried sick over my wife’s health all year long, and it’s a big relief that they don’t see any tumors or lesions. She’s partially paralyzed and can only go a short way in a walker. The headaches seem to be age-related, but she’s also having weakness and numbness in her hands and arms. She loves to cook and it’s getting harder and more dangerous for her working in the kitchen. We’re going to a neurosurgeon to get more imaging to try and find out what’s going on with her hands. She depends on her arms and hands so much because of the paralysis in her legs. We’ve been together for forty-three years and I don’t know what I’d do without her. Thank you so much to you and Kate, and everyone else who have expressed their concern.
BTW, there are so many great writers on Substack that it’s kind of intimidating. I’m just writing as a hobby but it’s going to be tougher and much more competitive as the platform grows. The quality of the most popular content creators is only going to get better as time goes on!
Hi Kate, it’s great to see your name here. Your friend Alia has written a fascinating article and I’m looking forward to seeing more. BTW, B has had her MRI and there’s no indication of a brain tumor. Next we’re going to see her neurosurgeon to find out what’s behind the weakness and numbing in her hands. Hope you and your lovely family are all doing well.
You're welcome Betje, but no need to be appalled. I had never thought of it either until I stumbled upon the reason while researching this piece. We learn such universal things from such a young age, we tend not to question their origin. But it's fascinating when we do look into them. Like the word music. The origins seem so glaringly obvious once they're known, but I'd never put two and two together before looking it up for Etymology Monday 😂
Hi Alia, that’s a great essay and I’m looking forward to more on this subject. If you’re into fiction there’s an interesting novel, The Ash Garden, by Dennis Bock. It’s about a German defector who works on the Manhattan Project and has a personal interaction years later with a Japanese filmmaker who is a survivor of the Hiroshima bombing. The story has an odd timeline but it’s an entertaining and thoughtful read. I think it was written about 2001.
Sorry, didn't mean for you to look it up... I had a link to it at the end of my post (don't worry, it was a looong post, and I go past links too... and road signs). I put out a short etymology post on notes every other Monday then link to it at the end of my fortnightly essay (because no one sees my notes 😂)
Thank you Gillian. It's quite fascinating about the Peace sign. I appreciate it so much more now that I know its origins as an anti-nuclear weapons symbol.
Fascinating, in a scary way. I wasn’t aware of that HG Wells novel. Do we call things into existence by imagining them? Maybe that’s how technological advances (good and bad) mostly happen: a pinch of observation, a whiff of zeitgeist and a generous helping of imagination. Then decades of often fruitless work.
What does it say about us, though, that dystopian fiction is so much more popular than utopian?
It's hard to know for sure, but it certainly seems that way doesn't it, at least a good deal of the time. Funnily enough, Szilard believed there was, and is, a link between creativity and science. Perhaps that's why he liked Wells so much.
We do, as humans, tend to have a stronger reaction to the 'fear of'. But positivity has its own forces, as I hope to show in part 2, and part 3 will look at the psychology behind why I think this is the case and how artists can use this to their advantage.
Yes, science fiction has delivered many ideas into reality, and I suppose that's my point... that the fictional worlds writers create in literature have the power to trigger real-world change.
Thank you for mentioning my substack. I want to note that one reason I gave Nature a voice in my new short story collection/novel, In This Ravishing World, was, like Samantha Harvey's work, to offer another way of being in the world, another way to see and feel the world. What if everything is alive? Some cultures seeped in something other than the Western tradition live this way. It would add so much more meaning to our lives and perhaps change the relationship between human and other/more than human. Art can reconfigure how one sees the world, how one experiences the world. Art can revive meaning.
You're welcome, Nina. You're so very right. The arts are powerful when it comes to reconfiguring how we see the world. As a collective, we can see and feel so much more.
When artists ask during these dark times: what can we do? This is what we can do.
Wonderful essay, Alia. I learned more about Wells and his impact on the scientist Szilard and have lots to think about. I too see a prescience and wisdom in arts. Inspired by an exhibit near Los Angeles called 'Storm Clouds' I have looked more carefully at how the arts have responded to the Industrial Revolution in England and US and its impact on climate change through the 19th and 20th centuries and into the present. I reflected on some of the writers in my recent post, "#23 Writing From the Heart". I also believe the arts make the concerns more accessible to people.
Sounds fascinating, Leslie. I'll jump over and read your story tonight. I agree the arts make ideas more accessible to people, and I think it's even more the case in today's day and age where fewer people read the news amid vast amounts of misinformation online. Having said that, we can't assume all artists have good intentions, but artists are generally a good lot 🙂
Alia, this a brilliant essay, I learned so much about H.G Wells and the development of the bomb. And also the story behind the peace symbol. Through art we can imagine alternative futures - both dark and bright - as you argue. I am looking forward to reading Part 2, I wonder which artists you will look too for inspiration.
Thanks Kate! I've got someone in mind for part 2, but as I haven't written it yet, who knows where it will go 😂
oh I'm intrigued ...
Hi Kate! Very nice to see your name here. I loved your friend’s essay and looking forward to reading more on this. If you like novels I’d suggest The Ash Garden by Dennis Bock, about a German defector who works on the Manhattan Project whose life becomes briefly intertwined with a survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bombing. Odd timeline in the story, but a good read overall. BTW, B had her brain imaging done on Monday and there is no indication of a tumor. Next we’re going to see a neurosurgeon who’s operated on her in the past to see what can be done about the weakness and numbness in her hands.
Hi Rafael, thank you for stopping by and reading my work. I hope you enjoy parts 2 & 3 when they're published. I'm glad to hear B has been given the all clear for a brain tumor. That must be a relief.
I’ve been worried sick over my wife’s health all year long, and it’s a big relief that they don’t see any tumors or lesions. She’s partially paralyzed and can only go a short way in a walker. The headaches seem to be age-related, but she’s also having weakness and numbness in her hands and arms. She loves to cook and it’s getting harder and more dangerous for her working in the kitchen. We’re going to a neurosurgeon to get more imaging to try and find out what’s going on with her hands. She depends on her arms and hands so much because of the paralysis in her legs. We’ve been together for forty-three years and I don’t know what I’d do without her. Thank you so much to you and Kate, and everyone else who have expressed their concern.
BTW, there are so many great writers on Substack that it’s kind of intimidating. I’m just writing as a hobby but it’s going to be tougher and much more competitive as the platform grows. The quality of the most popular content creators is only going to get better as time goes on!
I sincerely hope the doctors can help her, Rafael.
And yes, you are right, there are so many amazing writers on here. It’s become a great practice space.
Hi Kate, it’s great to see your name here. Your friend Alia has written a fascinating article and I’m looking forward to seeing more. BTW, B has had her MRI and there’s no indication of a brain tumor. Next we’re going to see her neurosurgeon to find out what’s behind the weakness and numbing in her hands. Hope you and your lovely family are all doing well.
Hi Rafael, fantastic news, and lovely to meet here reading some terrific writing!
What an excellent read! I'm going straight to the second one...
Thanks Jonathan :)
Thank you for sharing this, I’m appalled with myself for never wondering where the peace sign came from 😄
You're welcome Betje, but no need to be appalled. I had never thought of it either until I stumbled upon the reason while researching this piece. We learn such universal things from such a young age, we tend not to question their origin. But it's fascinating when we do look into them. Like the word music. The origins seem so glaringly obvious once they're known, but I'd never put two and two together before looking it up for Etymology Monday 😂
Hi Alia, that’s a great essay and I’m looking forward to more on this subject. If you’re into fiction there’s an interesting novel, The Ash Garden, by Dennis Bock. It’s about a German defector who works on the Manhattan Project and has a personal interaction years later with a Japanese filmmaker who is a survivor of the Hiroshima bombing. The story has an odd timeline but it’s an entertaining and thoughtful read. I think it was written about 2001.
Thanks for the book recommendation, Rafael. Much appreciated.
Had to look up where the word music comes from... makes sense but it's not nearly as obvious as Teletubbies and that took me years! HAHA!!
Haha, oh Teletubbies. That is tricky 😆
Sorry, didn't mean for you to look it up... I had a link to it at the end of my post (don't worry, it was a looong post, and I go past links too... and road signs). I put out a short etymology post on notes every other Monday then link to it at the end of my fortnightly essay (because no one sees my notes 😂)
Super story Alia, thank you. I didn't know about the HG Wells imaginings nor the peace symbol origin. Looking forward to part 2 :)
Thank you Gillian. It's quite fascinating about the Peace sign. I appreciate it so much more now that I know its origins as an anti-nuclear weapons symbol.
Thanks for the mention. Glad you’re enjoying Lizzy May.
You're welcome, Steve! Thanks for sharing the story with us all.
Fascinating, in a scary way. I wasn’t aware of that HG Wells novel. Do we call things into existence by imagining them? Maybe that’s how technological advances (good and bad) mostly happen: a pinch of observation, a whiff of zeitgeist and a generous helping of imagination. Then decades of often fruitless work.
What does it say about us, though, that dystopian fiction is so much more popular than utopian?
It's hard to know for sure, but it certainly seems that way doesn't it, at least a good deal of the time. Funnily enough, Szilard believed there was, and is, a link between creativity and science. Perhaps that's why he liked Wells so much.
We do, as humans, tend to have a stronger reaction to the 'fear of'. But positivity has its own forces, as I hope to show in part 2, and part 3 will look at the psychology behind why I think this is the case and how artists can use this to their advantage.
I'm looking forward to parts 2 and 3. I sure could use some positivity at the moment. I think we all could.
So, in essence, Wells predicted an atomic bomb would exist long before it existed. Well, he was a science fiction writer- that's their job...
Yes, science fiction has delivered many ideas into reality, and I suppose that's my point... that the fictional worlds writers create in literature have the power to trigger real-world change.