Berkeley Public Library is hosting an auth or talk with Camille T. Dungy at the UC Botanical Gardens in the Redwood G rove. \;
\nShe will be discussing her book Soil: The Story of a Black Mother's Garden along with authors and env ironmental justice activists Ashia Ajani and Aniya Butler of Youth Vs. Apo calypse.
\nThe discussion will be followed by a book signing. \;
\nWe will be hosting a number of gardening and plant related events throughout the month of July in connection with this author talk. Please keep an eye on this post and our event calendar for updates!
\nWe wi ll kick it off with a community book discussion at the Tarea Hall Pittman South Branch on Thursday\, July 10th at 6pm. Pick up a free copy of the bo ok at the THP South Branch info desk while copies last.
\n\nPlease check the calendar for all other related events. \;
\nPlease contact t he UC Botanical Gardens for any questions regarding the venue. \;
\ nRegistration is highly recommended!
\nAbout the Book
\nIn Soil: The Story of a Black Mother&rsquo\;s Garden\, poet and scholar Camille T. Dungy recounts the seven-year odyssey to diversify her garden in the pred ominantly white community of Fort Collins\, Colorado. When she moved there in 2013 with her husband and daughter\, the community held restrictions a bout what residents could and could not plant in their gardens. In resista nce to the homogenous policies that limited the possibility and wonder tha t grows from the earth\, Dungy employs the various plants\, herbs\, vegeta bles\, and flowers she grows in her garden as metaphor and treatise for ho w homogeneity threatens the future of our planet\, and why cultivating div erse and intersectional language in our national discourse about the envir onment is the best means of protecting it. Definitive and singular\, Soil functions at the nexus of nature writing\, environmental justice\, and pro se to encourage you to recognize the relationship between the peoples of t he African diaspora and the land on which they live\, and to understand th at wherever soil rests beneath their feet is home.
\n-Simon &\; S chuster\, May 2\, 2023
\nAbout the Authors
\nCamille T. Dungy was born and raised in the western United States (Colorad o and California)\, though she has lived briefly in most other regions of the U.S. and has spent time on all but one continent and several countries . Dungy attributes some of the energy in her writing to both her delight i n going new places and meeting new people and the good fortune of having a beautiful place to root down and call home. In much of her writing\, Dung y considers history\, landscape\, culture\, family\, and desire. \;
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Ash ia Ajani is a storyteller and environmental educator born and raised in De nver\, CO\, unceded territory of the Arapahoe\, Cheyenne and Ute peoples. Writing as a queer Black femme\, Ashia works to preserve\, interrogate and imagine how the Black diaspora has shaped and continues to shape land ste wardship in the Western hemisphere. They are currently the interim executi ve director of Youth Vs. Apocalypse. \;
\nAniya Butler is a spoken word poet\, publish ed author\, and the cultural and relational strategist with Youth Vs. Apoc alypse (YVA) from Oakland\, California. Within YVA\, she leads the Hip Hop &\; Climate Justice Team\, writing workshops\, and organizes community events that mobilizes youth throughout the Bay Area to learn creative wri ting skills and use their creative writing skills to target power holders and demand action. Through her poetry and organizing\, she demands immedia te and radical action to dismantle the foundational systems of oppression that are responsible for the climate crisis. Aniya believes through unity\ , resistance\, and creativity we can rebuild a world where every living th ing is allowed to thrive.
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Youth Vs. Apocal ypse is an organization that \;'are a diverse group of young climate j ustice activists working together to lift the voices of youth\, in particu lar youth of color and working class youth. Our collective action aims to fight for a livable climate and an equitable\, sustainable\, and just worl d.' \;
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