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May 3 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
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This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing carla@smithcenter.org.
You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.
with Carla Stillwagon, Kiersten Gallagher and Erin Price, LICSW, OSW-C
Welcome to “Read with Smith Center,” a community of book lovers diving in to current and relevant book material.
For our April and May sessions, we will be reading Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer.
Read the description from bookshop.org:
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).
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.
We will discuss the book in two parts on April 5th, 2022 and May 3rd, 2022. Register to receive the break-down of pages to have prepared for each session. Please join us for a lively discussion, no matter how much or little of the book you have read.
Get “Braiding Sweetgrass” here:
Read with Smith Center will meet Monthly on the 1st Tuesday from 12:00-1:00pm.
Upcoming Dates:
- April 5 (“Braiding Sweetgrass,” Pages 1-201 (Planting Sweetgrass, Tending Sweetgrass, Picking Sweetgrass)
- May 3 (“Braiding Sweetgrass,” Pages 205-386 (Braiding Sweetgrass, Burning Sweetgrass, Epilogue)
- June 7 (TBD)
About Carla Stillwagon
Carla serves as the Cancer Support Program & Retreat Coordinator at Smith Center. During her time at the center, Carla has been inspired to further develop her commitment to the arts and their invaluable role in healing and community. She is excited to share her favorite pastime, reading, in this group and hopes to hear all about your favorite things to read!
About Kiersten Gallagher
As the Cancer Support Program Director, Kiersten fully believes that through the arts we can expand our perspectives and explore new fulfilling ways of being. She invites you to make our space your own refuge, to circumvent your daily routine to spark creativity, to take time for introspection, and draw outside the lines.
About Erin Price, LICSW, OSW-C
Erin serves as Smith Center’s Director of Young Adult and Psychosocial Support Programs. She is trained in Integrative Patient Navigation, a Project LEAD graduate, and holds a Masters in Social Work. A seven-year breast cancer survivor, Erin is passionate about providing support and community to other cancer survivors, especially young adults. She works with Smith Center’s DC Young Adult Cancer Community and is also actively involved in the cancer community through Young Survival Coalition, Critical Mass, the Georgetown Breast Cancer Advocates, National Breast Cancer Coalition, and the DC Cancer Action Partnership.
