Sewell Lecture: Susan Griffin

The Sewell Lecture: Speaking of Justice  presents –

“Sustainability and the Soul”

Thursday, April 9, 7:00 p.m. followed by a reception and a gathering of social justice groups

Tickets $5-$20 sliding scale, available at the door or on-line at http://tinyurl.com/FirstU-PDX

No one turned away for lack of funds.

Since climate change threatens the survival of life on earth, as we know it, why have we been so slow to respond? Addressing the  complex threat of climate change, Susan Griffin will explore the false divisions our culture makes between body and soul, masculine and feminine, self and other that allow us to hide from our own knowledge. No matter how unique each of us may be, we are all born and sustained within natural and social eco-systems, and we all live, body and soul, in a network of relationships. Our efforts to avert even the worst effects of climate change will be far more effective when we gain a deeper understanding of the reciprocity and interdependence that define and sustain every aspect of existence.

Susan Griffin is an internationally celebrated writer whose books have been translated into 17 languages and widely anthologized.  Among the 20 books, Woman and Nature is considered a classic of the environmental movement and A Chorus of Stones: the Private Life of War was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

Susan Griffin is a poet, essayist, playwright and screenwriter. As she draws connections between the destruction of nature, the diminishment of women and racism, and traces the causes of war to denial in both private and public life, her work moves beyond the boundaries of form and perception. She is known for her innovative style. In addition to working as consultant for two other documentary films, she co-authored the script for the Academy Award nominated film, Berkeley in the Sixties.

Susan speaks about the inner life and psychology of democracy, ecology and the fruitful collaboration between feminism and civil rights, redefining terrorism in the light of civilian causalities; as well as a range of topics associated with her earlier work regarding weapons of mass destruction, ecology and feminism.