Blackstone Chronicles: Place-Making on a Tasmanian Island
Condition: SECONDHAND
NB: This is a secondhand book in very good condition. See our FAQs for more information. Please note that the jacket image is indicative only. A description of our secondhand books is not always available. Please contact us if you have a question about this title.
Author: John Cameron
Format: Paperback
Number of Pages: 236
In Blackstone Chronicles, John Cameron describes living remotely at 'Blackstone', a 55-acre rural property on Bruny Island, Tasmania with Victoria King after taking early retirement from academia. Accompanied by King's photos and evocative artworks, Cameron describes their serendipitous discovery of Blackstone by canoe while 'guided' by a resident heron, encounters with wildlife, a large ecological restoration project, becoming custodians of an intercultural heritage site, Goethean scientific investigations of natural phenomena, and poignant, often amusing attempts to achieve a sustainable lifestyle. As the circles of their environmental involvement widen, he reflects upon practical, philosophical, psychological and spiritual dimensions of inhabiting a new place. He describes the dawning sense of participation with the more-than-human life of Blackstone and documents exploring rock formations along the shoreline using Goethean science's 'delicate empiricism'. As a former geologist and environmentalist, he ponders the complementarity between geological understanding and intuitive appreciation. He discovers an 'imagination of the real' while inhabiting different time scales at work in a place. On Blackstone, Cameron and King re-discover 'the sod hut', a site of early contact between Aboriginal Nuenone people and colonial authorities. Their immersion into intercultural history and becoming custodians of the land is highlighted by a gift from a sea eagle. Cameron describes the strange alchemy that occurs between sense impressions, historical understanding and creative responses to a place. Their unsteady path towards energy self-sufficiency using solar panels and a wind turbine involves making do with what is at hand, embracing necessity and confronting the psychological and physical barriers to sustainability, leading to a profound source of well-being. They plant 4,000 native trees, turn overgrazed paddocks into habitat and sanctuary for wildlife, slowly develop a local place-based response to climate change and participate in environmental activities involving the whole island. Cameron powerfully describes close encounters with wild creatures while feeling increased physical enmeshment and responsibility for the land. He explores the theory of gifts: a cycle of reciprocity, the labour of gratitude, transformation and return, and the interplay between eros and logos. Long a student of practical spiritual philosophies, he recounts the difficulties of practicing mindfulness and maintaining multi-focussed attention while working on the land. He discovers water to be a communicative medium and describes late night kayaking with constellations of light in the water from rare occurrences of phosphorescence. His curiosity and science background allow him to write eloquently yet always with a sense of wonder. At Blackstone, he is forced to confront the world of myopia in which he has always lived as his eyesight deteriorates. He describes lessons in non-object seeing, retinal detachment, operations and enforced inactivity while becoming immersed into a non-visual sensorium. Permanent loss of some vision leads to attempts to retrain his eyes and different ways of looking at the natural world. John Cameron writes movingly on intersubjectivity with 'earth others' and a sense of partnership with the land, giving practical guidance for action, well-being and a grounded spirituality. He shares the importance of developing a place-responsive culture, the wider implications for place relations and environmental advocacy, synergies between rational thought, intuitive expression, and learning our way towards ecological sustainability.
Author: John Cameron
Format: Paperback
Number of Pages: 236
In Blackstone Chronicles, John Cameron describes living remotely at 'Blackstone', a 55-acre rural property on Bruny Island, Tasmania with Victoria King after taking early retirement from academia. Accompanied by King's photos and evocative artworks, Cameron describes their serendipitous discovery of Blackstone by canoe while 'guided' by a resident heron, encounters with wildlife, a large ecological restoration project, becoming custodians of an intercultural heritage site, Goethean scientific investigations of natural phenomena, and poignant, often amusing attempts to achieve a sustainable lifestyle. As the circles of their environmental involvement widen, he reflects upon practical, philosophical, psychological and spiritual dimensions of inhabiting a new place. He describes the dawning sense of participation with the more-than-human life of Blackstone and documents exploring rock formations along the shoreline using Goethean science's 'delicate empiricism'. As a former geologist and environmentalist, he ponders the complementarity between geological understanding and intuitive appreciation. He discovers an 'imagination of the real' while inhabiting different time scales at work in a place. On Blackstone, Cameron and King re-discover 'the sod hut', a site of early contact between Aboriginal Nuenone people and colonial authorities. Their immersion into intercultural history and becoming custodians of the land is highlighted by a gift from a sea eagle. Cameron describes the strange alchemy that occurs between sense impressions, historical understanding and creative responses to a place. Their unsteady path towards energy self-sufficiency using solar panels and a wind turbine involves making do with what is at hand, embracing necessity and confronting the psychological and physical barriers to sustainability, leading to a profound source of well-being. They plant 4,000 native trees, turn overgrazed paddocks into habitat and sanctuary for wildlife, slowly develop a local place-based response to climate change and participate in environmental activities involving the whole island. Cameron powerfully describes close encounters with wild creatures while feeling increased physical enmeshment and responsibility for the land. He explores the theory of gifts: a cycle of reciprocity, the labour of gratitude, transformation and return, and the interplay between eros and logos. Long a student of practical spiritual philosophies, he recounts the difficulties of practicing mindfulness and maintaining multi-focussed attention while working on the land. He discovers water to be a communicative medium and describes late night kayaking with constellations of light in the water from rare occurrences of phosphorescence. His curiosity and science background allow him to write eloquently yet always with a sense of wonder. At Blackstone, he is forced to confront the world of myopia in which he has always lived as his eyesight deteriorates. He describes lessons in non-object seeing, retinal detachment, operations and enforced inactivity while becoming immersed into a non-visual sensorium. Permanent loss of some vision leads to attempts to retrain his eyes and different ways of looking at the natural world. John Cameron writes movingly on intersubjectivity with 'earth others' and a sense of partnership with the land, giving practical guidance for action, well-being and a grounded spirituality. He shares the importance of developing a place-responsive culture, the wider implications for place relations and environmental advocacy, synergies between rational thought, intuitive expression, and learning our way towards ecological sustainability.
Description
NB: This is a secondhand book in very good condition. See our FAQs for more information. Please note that the jacket image is indicative only. A description of our secondhand books is not always available. Please contact us if you have a question about this title.
Author: John Cameron
Format: Paperback
Number of Pages: 236
In Blackstone Chronicles, John Cameron describes living remotely at 'Blackstone', a 55-acre rural property on Bruny Island, Tasmania with Victoria King after taking early retirement from academia. Accompanied by King's photos and evocative artworks, Cameron describes their serendipitous discovery of Blackstone by canoe while 'guided' by a resident heron, encounters with wildlife, a large ecological restoration project, becoming custodians of an intercultural heritage site, Goethean scientific investigations of natural phenomena, and poignant, often amusing attempts to achieve a sustainable lifestyle. As the circles of their environmental involvement widen, he reflects upon practical, philosophical, psychological and spiritual dimensions of inhabiting a new place. He describes the dawning sense of participation with the more-than-human life of Blackstone and documents exploring rock formations along the shoreline using Goethean science's 'delicate empiricism'. As a former geologist and environmentalist, he ponders the complementarity between geological understanding and intuitive appreciation. He discovers an 'imagination of the real' while inhabiting different time scales at work in a place. On Blackstone, Cameron and King re-discover 'the sod hut', a site of early contact between Aboriginal Nuenone people and colonial authorities. Their immersion into intercultural history and becoming custodians of the land is highlighted by a gift from a sea eagle. Cameron describes the strange alchemy that occurs between sense impressions, historical understanding and creative responses to a place. Their unsteady path towards energy self-sufficiency using solar panels and a wind turbine involves making do with what is at hand, embracing necessity and confronting the psychological and physical barriers to sustainability, leading to a profound source of well-being. They plant 4,000 native trees, turn overgrazed paddocks into habitat and sanctuary for wildlife, slowly develop a local place-based response to climate change and participate in environmental activities involving the whole island. Cameron powerfully describes close encounters with wild creatures while feeling increased physical enmeshment and responsibility for the land. He explores the theory of gifts: a cycle of reciprocity, the labour of gratitude, transformation and return, and the interplay between eros and logos. Long a student of practical spiritual philosophies, he recounts the difficulties of practicing mindfulness and maintaining multi-focussed attention while working on the land. He discovers water to be a communicative medium and describes late night kayaking with constellations of light in the water from rare occurrences of phosphorescence. His curiosity and science background allow him to write eloquently yet always with a sense of wonder. At Blackstone, he is forced to confront the world of myopia in which he has always lived as his eyesight deteriorates. He describes lessons in non-object seeing, retinal detachment, operations and enforced inactivity while becoming immersed into a non-visual sensorium. Permanent loss of some vision leads to attempts to retrain his eyes and different ways of looking at the natural world. John Cameron writes movingly on intersubjectivity with 'earth others' and a sense of partnership with the land, giving practical guidance for action, well-being and a grounded spirituality. He shares the importance of developing a place-responsive culture, the wider implications for place relations and environmental advocacy, synergies between rational thought, intuitive expression, and learning our way towards ecological sustainability.
Author: John Cameron
Format: Paperback
Number of Pages: 236
In Blackstone Chronicles, John Cameron describes living remotely at 'Blackstone', a 55-acre rural property on Bruny Island, Tasmania with Victoria King after taking early retirement from academia. Accompanied by King's photos and evocative artworks, Cameron describes their serendipitous discovery of Blackstone by canoe while 'guided' by a resident heron, encounters with wildlife, a large ecological restoration project, becoming custodians of an intercultural heritage site, Goethean scientific investigations of natural phenomena, and poignant, often amusing attempts to achieve a sustainable lifestyle. As the circles of their environmental involvement widen, he reflects upon practical, philosophical, psychological and spiritual dimensions of inhabiting a new place. He describes the dawning sense of participation with the more-than-human life of Blackstone and documents exploring rock formations along the shoreline using Goethean science's 'delicate empiricism'. As a former geologist and environmentalist, he ponders the complementarity between geological understanding and intuitive appreciation. He discovers an 'imagination of the real' while inhabiting different time scales at work in a place. On Blackstone, Cameron and King re-discover 'the sod hut', a site of early contact between Aboriginal Nuenone people and colonial authorities. Their immersion into intercultural history and becoming custodians of the land is highlighted by a gift from a sea eagle. Cameron describes the strange alchemy that occurs between sense impressions, historical understanding and creative responses to a place. Their unsteady path towards energy self-sufficiency using solar panels and a wind turbine involves making do with what is at hand, embracing necessity and confronting the psychological and physical barriers to sustainability, leading to a profound source of well-being. They plant 4,000 native trees, turn overgrazed paddocks into habitat and sanctuary for wildlife, slowly develop a local place-based response to climate change and participate in environmental activities involving the whole island. Cameron powerfully describes close encounters with wild creatures while feeling increased physical enmeshment and responsibility for the land. He explores the theory of gifts: a cycle of reciprocity, the labour of gratitude, transformation and return, and the interplay between eros and logos. Long a student of practical spiritual philosophies, he recounts the difficulties of practicing mindfulness and maintaining multi-focussed attention while working on the land. He discovers water to be a communicative medium and describes late night kayaking with constellations of light in the water from rare occurrences of phosphorescence. His curiosity and science background allow him to write eloquently yet always with a sense of wonder. At Blackstone, he is forced to confront the world of myopia in which he has always lived as his eyesight deteriorates. He describes lessons in non-object seeing, retinal detachment, operations and enforced inactivity while becoming immersed into a non-visual sensorium. Permanent loss of some vision leads to attempts to retrain his eyes and different ways of looking at the natural world. John Cameron writes movingly on intersubjectivity with 'earth others' and a sense of partnership with the land, giving practical guidance for action, well-being and a grounded spirituality. He shares the importance of developing a place-responsive culture, the wider implications for place relations and environmental advocacy, synergies between rational thought, intuitive expression, and learning our way towards ecological sustainability.
Blackstone Chronicles: Place-Making on a Tasmanian Island