Die Grammatik der Lebendigkeit

Am Rand unserer alltäglichen Wahrnehmung, kaum sichtbar für das Auge, liegt eine andere Welt: ein Regenwald en miniature, ein Mikrobiom, bestehend aus Moosen, den primitivsten aller Pflanzen. Sie haben weder Blüten, Früchte noch Samen und bringen es dennoch auf 22 000 Arten. Sie haben keine Wurzeln, und doch sind sie seit ihrer Entstehung vor mehreren hundert Millionen Jahren tief verbunden mit dem Leben unzähliger anderer Organismen. Anschaulich und kunstvoll bietet Robin Wall Kimmerer in ihren persönlichen, mit indigenen Wissensformen und wissenschaftlicher Erkenntnis angereicherten Reflexionen Einblick in die Vielfalt dieser genügsamen, allen Widrigkeiten trotzenden Organismen. Und zeigt damit, dass der bloßen Existenz der Moose nicht nur aufgrund ihrer Schönheit unsere Aufmerksamkeit gelten sollte. Dem ersten Blick verborgen, offenbaren sie uns Blatt für Blatt eine Botschaft, die unbedingt gehört werden muss: wie es möglich ist, sich mit der Welt aufs Innigste vertraut zu machen und noch unter schwierigsten Bedingungen in Verbundenheit zu überleben.

An Instant New York Times Bestseller<BR> <BR>From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Braiding Sweetgrass, a bold and inspiring vision for how to orient our lives around gratitude, reciprocity, and community, based on the lessons of the natural world.<BR><BR>As Indigenous scientist and author of Braiding Sweetgrass Robin Wall Kimmerer harvests serviceberries alongside the birds, she considers the ethic of reciprocity that lies at the heart of the gift economy. How, she asks, can we learn from Indigenous wisdom and the plant world to reimagine what we value most? Our economy is rooted in scarcity, competition, and the hoarding of resources, and we have surrendered our values to a system that actively harms what we love. Meanwhile, the serviceberry’s relationship with the natural world is an embodiment of reciprocity, interconnectedness, and gratitude. The tree distributes its wealth—its abundance of sweet, juicy berries—to meet the needs of its natural community. And this distribution ensures its own survival. As Kimmerer explains, “Serviceberries show us another model, one based upon reciprocity, where wealth comes from the quality of your relationships, not from the illusion of self-sufficiency.”<BR> <BR> As Elizabeth Gilbert writes, Robin Wall Kimmerer is “a great teacher, and her words are a hymn of love to the world.” The Serviceberry is an antidote to the broken relationships and misguided goals of our times, and a reminder that “hoarding won’t save us, all flourishing is mutual.”<BR> <BR> Robin Wall Kimmerer is donating her advance payments from this book as a reciprocal gift, back to the land, for land protection, restoration, and justice.

'Man sieht die Welt nie wieder so wie zuvor, nachdem man sie durch Kimmerers Augen gesehen hat.' Elizabeth GilbertMit 'Geflochtenes Süßgras' eroberte Robin Wall Kimmerer die Herzen und Bestsellerlisten. Wie niemand vor ihr brachte sie darin die Fäden zum Leuchten, durch die sämtliche Lebewesen - Mensch, Tier und Pflanze - auf geheimnisvolle Weise miteinander verwoben sind. Die poetischsten Geschichten ihres Weltbestsellers sind nun in einer liebevoll illustrierten Geschenkausgabe versammelt. In ihrem wichtigsten Text 'Die ehrenhafte Ernte' lehrt uns die Botanikerin den Weg der Indigenen: Demut, Dankbarkeit und Respekt gegenüber einer Natur, von der wir nicht nur nehmen sollten, sondern der wir viel zurückzugeben haben.'Bücher über Umweltschutz lassen mich in der Regel ohnmächtig zurück.  Kimmerer dagegen gibt nicht nur Hoffnung, sondern auch konkrete Beispiele wie das Konzept der ¿ehrenhaften Ernte¿. Und sie zeigt, wie intim wir mit der gesamten lebendigen Welt verbunden sind.'Mithu Sanyal

In twenty short books, Penguin brings you the classics of the environmental movement.<BR><BR>In The Democracy of Species Robin Wall Kimmerer guides us towards a more reciprocal, grateful and joyful relationship with our animate earth, from the wild leeks in the field to the deer in the woods.<BR><BR>Over the past 75 years, a new canon has emerged. As life on Earth has become irrevocably altered by humans, visionary thinkers around the world have raised their voices to defend the planet, and affirm our place at the heart of its restoration. Their words have endured through the decades, becoming the classics of a movement. Together, these books show the richness of environmental thought, and point the way to a fairer, saner, greener world.

Robin Wall Kimmerer flicht aus indigener Weisheit und wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnisse einen Zopf an Geschichten über die Großzügigkeit der Erde. Der Überraschungsbestseller aus den USA mit über einer Million verkaufter Exemplare.'Man sieht die Welt nie wieder so wie zuvor, nachdem man sie durch Kimmerers Augen gesehen hat.' Elizabeth Gilbert'Es ist die Art und Weise, wie sie Schönheit einfängt, die ich am meisten liebe, die Bilder von riesigen Zedern und wilden Erdbeeren, ein Wald im Regen und eine Wiese aus duftendem Süßgras werden Ihnen in Erinnerung bleiben, lange nachdem Sie die letzte Seite gelesen haben.' Jane Goodall'Robin Wall Kimmerers 'Geflochtenes Süßgras' las ich, als ich am Boden war; und es gab mir Trost und das Gefühl, dass es noch Hoffnung gibt für diesen Planeten.' Helen MacDonald

Von der Autorin des Welt-Bestsellers 'Geflochtenes Süßgras''Vom Horten zum Kreislauf, von der Unabhängigkeit zur Interdependenz, vom Verwunden zum Heilen; nur so können wir auch in Zukunft gedeihen.'Was können wir von einem Baum lernen? Alles! Wie man sich einbringt, wie man teilt, wie man lebt. Die Felsenbirne - mit ihren köstlichen dunkelroten Beeren - steht hier als Sinnbild für alles, was wichtig ist: selbstloses Geben und verantwortungsvolles Nehmen. Für Gemeinschaft, Verbundenheit, Dankbarkeit. Dieses Buch lässt uns staunen über die Natur und über uns selbst.Nach dem Weltbestseller 'Geflochtenes Süßgras' schenkt uns Robin Wall Kimmerer ein weiteres Buch, das man nicht nur liest, sondern mit jeder Seite in sich aufnimmt. 'Robin Wall Kimmerer schreibt über Pflanzen und Menschen wie niemand vor ihr.' taz. Die Tageszeitung 'Eine bewegende Reflexion darüber, was wir von den Gaben eines Baums für eine gerechtere Gesellschaft lernen können.' TIME 'Dankbarkeit ist der Kern von Kimmerer Schreiben.' Deutschlandfunk Kultur

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Braiding Sweetgrass, an inspiring vision of how to reorient our lives around gratitude, reciprocity and community<BR><BR>As Indigenous scientist and author of Braiding Sweetgrass Robin Wall Kimmerer harvests serviceberries alongside the birds, she considers the ethic of reciprocity that lies at the heart of the gift economy. How, she asks, can we learn from Indigenous wisdom and the plant world to reimagine what we value most?<BR><BR>Our economy is rooted in scarcity, competition, and the hoarding of resources, and we have surrendered our values to a system that actively harms what we love. Meanwhile, the serviceberry's relationship with the natural world is an embodiment of reciprocity, interconnectedness, and gratitude. The tree distributes its wealth-its abundance of sweet, juicy berries-to meet the needs of its natural community. And this distribution ensures its own survival.<BR><BR>The Serviceberry is an antidote to the broken relationships and misguided goals of our times, and a reminder that "hoarding won't save us, all flourishing is mutual."

'Kimmerer blends, with deep attentiveness and musicality, science and personal insights to tell the overlooked story of the planet's oldest plants' Guardian<BR><BR>'Bewitching ... a masterwork ... a glittering read in its entirety' Maria Popova, Brainpickings<BR><BR>Living at the limits of our ordinary perception, mosses are a common but largely unnoticed element of the natural world. Gathering Moss is a beautifully written mix of science and personal reflection that invites readers to explore and learn from the elegantly simple lives of mosses. <BR><BR> In these interwoven essays, Robin Wall Kimmerer leads general readers and scientists alike to an understanding of how mosses live and how their lives are intertwined with the lives of countless other beings. Kimmerer explains the biology of mosses clearly and artfully, while at the same time reflecting on what these fascinating organisms have to teach us.<BR><BR> Drawing on her experiences as a scientist, a mother, and a Native American, Kimmerer explains the stories of mosses in scientific terms as well as within the framework of indigenous ways of knowing. In her book, the natural history and cultural relationships of mosses become a powerful metaphor for ways of living in the world.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Braiding Sweetgrass, an inspiring vision of how to reorient our lives around gratitude, reciprocity and community<BR><BR>As Indigenous scientist and author of Braiding Sweetgrass Robin Wall Kimmerer harvests serviceberries alongside the birds, she considers the ethic of reciprocity that lies at the heart of the gift economy. How, she asks, can we learn from Indigenous wisdom and the plant world to reimagine what we value most?<BR><BR>Our economy is rooted in scarcity, competition, and the hoarding of resources, and we have surrendered our values to a system that actively harms what we love. Meanwhile, the serviceberry's relationship with the natural world is an embodiment of reciprocity, interconnectedness, and gratitude. The tree distributes its wealth-its abundance of sweet, juicy berries-to meet the needs of its natural community. And this distribution ensures its own survival.<BR><BR>The Serviceberry is an antidote to the broken relationships and misguided goals of our times, and a reminder that "hoarding won't save us, all flourishing is mutual."

Updated with a new introduction from Robin Wall Kimmerer, the special edition of Braiding Sweetgrass, reissued in honor of the fortieth anniversary of Milkweed Editions, celebrates the book as an object of meaning that will last the ages. Beautifully bound with a new cover featuring an engraving by Tony Drehfal, this edition includes a deckled edge and five brilliantly colored illustrations by artist Nate Christopherson. In increasingly dark times, we honor the experience that more than 350,000 readers in North America have cherished about the book—gentle, simple, tactile, beautiful, even sacred—and offer an edition that will inspire readers to gift it again and again, spreading the word about scientific knowledge, indigenous wisdom, and the teachings of plants. <BR>As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take us on “a journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise” (Elizabeth Gilbert).<BR>Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, a mother, and a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings—asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass—offer us gifts and lessons, even if we’ve forgotten how to hear their voices. In a rich braid of reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return.

A New York Times 100 Best Books of the 21st Century Readers Pick #1 New York Times BestsellerA Washington Post and Los Angeles Times BestsellerAs a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take us on "a journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise" (Elizabeth Gilbert).Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, and as a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings—asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass—offer us gifts and lessons, even if we've forgotten how to hear their voices. In reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return.