Nov 21, 2023·edited Nov 21, 2023Liked by Elle Gover
~* Fire, bringer of life. Fire, bringer of death. Fire as destroyer. Fire as transformer. End, transition, & beginning. *~
Amazed to read this after having just returned from a pilgrimage to Japan also contemplating/researching waste burning there, and navigating my long-running anxiety about trash-burning neighbors where I live (BC, Canada). (I should preface by saying that I've been greatly enjoying your newsletter, which I stumbled upon by chance just as your chronicling here began, and have found your sharings to be incredibly resonant. As it happens, I'm situated on the opposite end of a somewhat similar journey, preparing with a heavy heart to leave the home that my grandfather built 38 years ago, and the land that my partner & I have been stewarding for the past 6 years...)
The oscillation between the fear of increased wildfires and the reintroduction of controlled burning practices here is very active, but as with so many issues I usually find people grouped at the extremes, with too little dialogue bridging the two. Similarly, open burning is allowed in my rural area for part of the year, with laws constraining the types of materials burnt and the methods used to contain the results. However, there is close to no dialogue or educational efforts attempting to establish a shared understanding between the 'burn-anything-however' types and the 'burn-responsibly-properly' types.
I think to myself: Once upon a time, everything we burnt was made of natural materials and we were a smaller species with simpler tools... now, it's complicated, but we are slow to adapt/teach/learn. As a result, I have an elderly neighbor who sometimes unwittingly sends billowing fumes of toxic smoke across our garden and into our home, and chunks of half-burnt photos & who-knows-what drift onto the land like snow. Once, after he dumped the resulting ash along the property line, I watched a hummingbird mother sipping at the pile to replenish the calcium lost in egg production, hoping with an anxious heart that somehow she and her babies won't be too greatly harmed by what else is in there...
Anyway, not to go on too long about this issue (too much to unpack), but it is very close to my heart. And reading about incineration practices in Japan after visiting has added a great deal more nuance to my feelings about 'burnables'. Like controlled burning, when done the right way, I can see how my intuitive reaction to burning trash has been largely misguided in the grander scheme. It's certainly not as great as waste reduction, but given the realities of consumption in an industrialized world, it seems to be a necessary process (until *insert-sci-fi-miracle-technology*, of course).
Thank you for your thoughtful reflections :^) I'd love to also reflect further upon the clay/art aspect, but must rush off to preparations for a rather hectic week.
(Also, just... Japan! We are also slowly absorbing the amazing experiences we had there and feeling varying flavors of post-travel depression. Re-grounding at home has been good, but the imminent holidays are making the transition feel especially surreal.)
p.s. In a previous newsletter, I was delighted to see your mention of Hideyuki Hashimoto's music, which I've been steeping myself in ritualistically for the past decade. Life-saving, really.
p.p.s. It occurs to me that I have a friend (& inspiration) in Michigan who writes in a similar spirit to you... perhaps, possibly you know/of him: https://cscottmills.com/about/ ? Seems like you two would resonate ~
Thank you so much for this thoughtful message. I love the detail and recollection you bring — it is all so complex, and part of what I wanted to communicate here was the nuance you so nicely captured in the hummingbird/neighbor image. There's no perfect solution, but I like to hope we're all doing our best. I definitely echo your comment on the surrealism of returning from Japan into a "holiday season" here. Already scheming on my return... Excited about all the parallels! Following along now with cscottmills' work and bird studies.. I got a short-tailed albatross writing in the works now. Wishing you a peaceful week and easeful transition — thanks for reading <3
Absolutely! And likewise to you :^) Wishing you all the best in navigating the puzzle of how to share one’s experiences in a way that feels right & balanced. I’ve been on a long hiatus myself after years of writing blog posts, which I eventually burnt out on, and am now very gradually getting back to other ways of exploring & sharing. Mostly finding solace in tactile work and aiming towards various zine-like forms... we’ll see!
~* Fire, bringer of life. Fire, bringer of death. Fire as destroyer. Fire as transformer. End, transition, & beginning. *~
Amazed to read this after having just returned from a pilgrimage to Japan also contemplating/researching waste burning there, and navigating my long-running anxiety about trash-burning neighbors where I live (BC, Canada). (I should preface by saying that I've been greatly enjoying your newsletter, which I stumbled upon by chance just as your chronicling here began, and have found your sharings to be incredibly resonant. As it happens, I'm situated on the opposite end of a somewhat similar journey, preparing with a heavy heart to leave the home that my grandfather built 38 years ago, and the land that my partner & I have been stewarding for the past 6 years...)
The oscillation between the fear of increased wildfires and the reintroduction of controlled burning practices here is very active, but as with so many issues I usually find people grouped at the extremes, with too little dialogue bridging the two. Similarly, open burning is allowed in my rural area for part of the year, with laws constraining the types of materials burnt and the methods used to contain the results. However, there is close to no dialogue or educational efforts attempting to establish a shared understanding between the 'burn-anything-however' types and the 'burn-responsibly-properly' types.
I think to myself: Once upon a time, everything we burnt was made of natural materials and we were a smaller species with simpler tools... now, it's complicated, but we are slow to adapt/teach/learn. As a result, I have an elderly neighbor who sometimes unwittingly sends billowing fumes of toxic smoke across our garden and into our home, and chunks of half-burnt photos & who-knows-what drift onto the land like snow. Once, after he dumped the resulting ash along the property line, I watched a hummingbird mother sipping at the pile to replenish the calcium lost in egg production, hoping with an anxious heart that somehow she and her babies won't be too greatly harmed by what else is in there...
Anyway, not to go on too long about this issue (too much to unpack), but it is very close to my heart. And reading about incineration practices in Japan after visiting has added a great deal more nuance to my feelings about 'burnables'. Like controlled burning, when done the right way, I can see how my intuitive reaction to burning trash has been largely misguided in the grander scheme. It's certainly not as great as waste reduction, but given the realities of consumption in an industrialized world, it seems to be a necessary process (until *insert-sci-fi-miracle-technology*, of course).
Thank you for your thoughtful reflections :^) I'd love to also reflect further upon the clay/art aspect, but must rush off to preparations for a rather hectic week.
(Also, just... Japan! We are also slowly absorbing the amazing experiences we had there and feeling varying flavors of post-travel depression. Re-grounding at home has been good, but the imminent holidays are making the transition feel especially surreal.)
p.s. In a previous newsletter, I was delighted to see your mention of Hideyuki Hashimoto's music, which I've been steeping myself in ritualistically for the past decade. Life-saving, really.
p.p.s. It occurs to me that I have a friend (& inspiration) in Michigan who writes in a similar spirit to you... perhaps, possibly you know/of him: https://cscottmills.com/about/ ? Seems like you two would resonate ~
Thank you so much for this thoughtful message. I love the detail and recollection you bring — it is all so complex, and part of what I wanted to communicate here was the nuance you so nicely captured in the hummingbird/neighbor image. There's no perfect solution, but I like to hope we're all doing our best. I definitely echo your comment on the surrealism of returning from Japan into a "holiday season" here. Already scheming on my return... Excited about all the parallels! Following along now with cscottmills' work and bird studies.. I got a short-tailed albatross writing in the works now. Wishing you a peaceful week and easeful transition — thanks for reading <3
Absolutely! And likewise to you :^) Wishing you all the best in navigating the puzzle of how to share one’s experiences in a way that feels right & balanced. I’ve been on a long hiatus myself after years of writing blog posts, which I eventually burnt out on, and am now very gradually getting back to other ways of exploring & sharing. Mostly finding solace in tactile work and aiming towards various zine-like forms... we’ll see!
Please feel free to share with me whatever output you settle on <3