The Grove is a reading circle for creatives and community seekers. We gather monthly to carve out a cozy space for quiet reading, intentional conversation, and connection.
As practitioners it can be difficult to find time to read and we’re often in the role of facilitating. The Grove is spacious and focused on nourishment. You are welcome to read the book before we meet, but it isn’t necessary. Our curator, Kate Creech, will select an excerpt (or a few) and we’ll take time to read quietly on our own, before transitioning into a discussion/learning space. There is ample permission to relax, receive, and surrender the pressure to say something ‘smart’!
Our featured book for September is Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
September is a time of shifting seasons where it can be difficult for our bodies to find a place to ground after months of sunshine. Braiding Sweetgrass felt like a good landing spot to rest in for an evening. Kimmerer, an indigenous scientist, invites the reader to look more closely at the parts of nature that we might not remember how to listen to. We’ll gently notice our connection to the ecological world that we rarely get to take the time to explore.
We look forward to being together!
Timing
Our gathering will loosely follow this flow:
7:00 — Arrive + get cozy
7:10 — Setting the frame
7:15 — Quiet reading
7:50 — Conversation
8:30 — Space for casual connection
Tea and chocolate will be provided. You are welcome to bring snacks, wine, or your favorite beverage to share.
Registration
$7 suggested exchange for the general public
Registration fee is included for collective members
Please RSVP by Noon the day of the gathering so we can prepare the space for you. We will also share access to the selected excerpts that we will be reading together so you can download to your favorite reading device for print copies to bring with you.
We encourage you to support Robin Wall Kimmerer and your favorite local bookstore by purchasing the book, before or after the circle. We love our building-mates Ardunsel Books.
Kate Creech
Psychotherapist & Circle Curator
Kate is a therapist and visual artist. She is excited to curate this circle because books offer a space for us to connect and create the space to process (or simply be) with others in the daunting questions we often face as humans/healers/creatives, etc
Learn more about Kate
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.
Robin Wall Kimmerer
Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation.
—Learn more about Robin