Earthly Reads: Marcia Bjornerud on Turning to Stone /S1:3
A stone formation juts from the center of the black and white photo with small boulders and gravel laying at the foot.
Join us with Marcia Bjornerud for a brilliant conversation on a life dedicated to the physical Earth. This conversation is the third episode for our new Earthly Reads series.
Together, Ayana and Marcia discuss Marcia’s new book, Turning to Stone: Discovering the Subtle Wisdom of Rocks, and contemplate a life lived in conversation with the very Earth that holds us. They consider the rocks beneath our feet and how they may be in charge of our destinies, our economies, and our collective well being. Marcia offers us her grounding presence and her awareness of geologic time cycles that churn beyond human perception.
Earthly Reads is a podcast series and online book study featuring conversations with some of our favorite authors including adrienne maree brown, Marcia Bjornerud, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Prentis Hemphill, Tricia Hersey, and Céline Semaan. This episode is just a small glimpse into some of the incredible live conversations that will take place throughout the book study. To access the full 55 minute episode join us on Patreon or the Earthly Reads Book Study.
“Contrary to their reputation, rocks are alert, responsive, communicative. They are the force field in which we live, the infrastructure of our existence, playing central roles in the “economy” of the world, as aquifers, architects of topogra-phy, managers of ocean chemistry, regulators of climate. They are also shape-shifters and fortune tellers.”
Marcia Bjornerud
Marcia Bjornerud is Professor of Geosciences and Environmental Studies at Lawrence University in Wisconsin. Her research focuses on the physics of earthquakes and mountain building, and she combines field-based studies of bedrock geology with quantitative models of rock mechanics. She has done research in high arctic Norway and Canada as well as mainland Norway, Italy, New Zealand, and the Lake Superior region. A contributing writer to The New Yorker, Wired, the Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times, she is also the author of several books for popular audiences: Reading the Rocks, Timefulness, Geopedia and the recently published Turning to Stone: Discovering the Subtle Wisdom of Rocks.
Turning to Stone: Discovering the Subtle Wisdom of Rocks
Earth is vibrantly alive and full of wisdom for those who learn to listen.
Earth has been reinventing itself for more than four billion years, keeping a record of its experiments in the form of rocks. Yet most of us live our lives on the planet with no idea of its extraordinary history, unable to interpret the language of the rocks that surround us. Geologist Marcia Bjornerud believes that our lives can be enriched by understanding our heritage on this old and creative planet.
Contrary to their reputation, rocks have eventful lives-and they intersect with our own in surprising ways. In Turning to Stone, Bjornerud reveals how rocks are the hidden infrastructure that keep the planet functioning, from sandstone aquifers purifying the water we drink to basalt formations slowly regulating global climate.
Bjornerud's life as a geologist has coincided with an extraordinary period of discovery in the geosciences. From an insular girlhood in rural Wisconsin, she found her way to an unlikely career studying mountains in remote parts of the world and witnessed the emergence of a new understanding of the Earth as an animate system of rock, air, water and life. We are all, most fundamentally, Earthlings and we can find existential meaning and enduring wisdom in stone.
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♫ The music featured in this series is “Adjust” by Xyla, “The Course of Empire” by Mizu, “Centuries” by Marine Eyes, and “Contours” by David Moses x Tristan de Liege from the compilation Staying: Leaving Records Aid to Artists Impacted by the Los Angeles Wildfires courtesy of our partner Leaving Records. Compilation proceeds are directed back into the community of artists and families impacted by the fires. Learn more at staying.bandcamp.com.
Earthly Reads
Book Study
6 live, online salons with authors adrienne maree brown, Prentis Hemphill, Tricia Hersey, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Céline Semaan, and Marcia Bjornerud and host Ayana Young discussing their new books. Featuring live music (courtesy of Living Earth), embodiment practices, and Q&A with the Authors
For The Wild Study Notes for each book
Music playlists to study and move to
Access to the extended versions of the Authors’ new podcast episodes
A Practice & Resource Guide to take your studies further
Community Discussion group
More!
Earthly Reads Episode Series
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