“We don’t see things as they are. We see them as we are.”
— a quote often attributed to Anaïs Nin (pg. 281)
The Grove is a reading circle for healers. We gather monthly to carve out a cozy space for quiet reading, intentional conversation, and connection.
As healers 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 April is Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals by Alexis Pauline Gumbs.
“Undrowned is a book-length meditation for social movements and our whole species based on the subversive and transformative guidance of marine mammals. Our aquatic cousins are queer, fierce, protective of each other, complex, shaped by conflict, and struggling to survive the extractive and militarized conditions our species has imposed on the ocean. Gumbs employs a brilliant mix of poetic sensibility and naturalist observation to show what they might teach us, producing not a specific agenda but an unfolding space for wondering and questioning. From the relationship between the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale and Gumbs’s Shinnecock and enslaved ancestors to the ways echolocation changes our understandings of “vision” and visionary action, this is a masterful use of metaphor and natural models in the service of social justice.” (excerpt from Gumb’s website)
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.
RSVP
Please RSVP by Monday, April 24th at 3pm so we can prepare the space for you.
Following registration, selected excerpts are available in our members-only Resource Library. Log in through our website to download the PDFs to your favorite reading device or to print copies to bring with you.
We encourage you to support Alexis Pauline Gumbs 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
Our featured book for February is Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals by Alexis Pauline Gumbs.
Alexis Pauline Gumbs
“Alexis Pauline Gumbs is a Queer Black Troublemaker and Black Feminist Love Evangelist and an aspirational cousin to all sentient beings. Her work in this lifetime is to facilitate infinite, unstoppable ancestral love in practice. Her poetic work in response to the needs of her cherished communities has held space for multitudes in mourning and movement…Unlike most academic texts, Alexis’s work has inspired artists across form to create dance works, installation work, paintings, processionals, divination practices, operas, quilts and more.”
—Learn more about Alexis