ALL: Tell us about the history of this organization. How was the BEI born? What are some important moments in BEI's history?
Black Earth Institute: My co-founder and late wife Patricia Monaghan (1946-2012) and I started BEI after W. Bush's second stolen election. Patricia was a poet, scholar and activist with friends throughout the country. I had been studying the role of right-wing think tanks in determining terms and language of important issues. We thought that artists can determine language and terms and that was needed. We envisioned a think tank shaped by art and artists. We saw that social issues of war, racism and you name it cried out for a response; the same for protecting the earth. We were concerned that too often spirit, spirituality. religion were ignored and even made objects of derision. We wanted to firmly place inclusive spirit linked to social justice and protecting as part of that response. We felt that having art address the connections of spirit, earth and society could produce work that showed a path to a better world. Then Patricia called friends for fellows and scholars and we had what she called an adult slumber party at our land, Brigit Rest, here in the Driftless Area the next fall and we were born.
The biggest moment is now that we are still here, about to complete our fourth 3-year group of fellows and are in the thick or reviewing near one hundred applications for the 2018-2021 group of fellows. Patricia died in 2012 with much sadness and loss for all of us. We all of us were transitioning from friends and more friends to a more public fellowship. We did that in 2014 and now we are doing that again. We launched our online publication, About Place Journal, in 2012 and now are about to bring out our 17th issue. Each issue was edited by a fellow or scholar. Our recent issues get about 6000 views on artists' pages. We have had 400 artists published in the journal.
We've had our annual fall retreat at Brigit Rest every year but when Patricia was sick and they have been intense, bonding and productive. We live together here for the days, discuss our work and themes chosen for the time. I remember the first year we read and discussed George Lakoff's work around framing that included both art and responding to those right-wing words phrases. This past fall we discussed intersectionality and also the psychological bases of hate and bias.
ALL: The work of your fellows is impressive and inspirational. Are there past projects of which you are particularly fond or proud?
BEI: Recent accomplishments include new books, Mississippi by Ann Fisher-Wirth, and Ghost Fishing, an ecojustice poetry collection, edited by Melissa Tuckey. These just came out. Lauren Camp's One Hundred Hungers about her Iraqi Jewish father in Baghdad and here has won honors. Tammy Gomez had a performance event about men of color in danger of being gunned down. Taylor Brorby was active in opposing pipelines and is now the reviews editor for Orion. Metta Sama organized a series on Environment but one that started with identity and went from there to plant communication to domestic violence. Todd Davis continued his work linking human activity and nature with residencies and placement of poetry and prose in prestigious journals. I must single out our senior fellow Patricia Spears Jones who won the $50,000 Jackson Prize from Poets and Writers. You can see a full report here.
ALL: Can you describe the fellowship experience at BEI?
BEI: It has changed over the years. The first years ran on personal connections and enthusiasm for defining the basic missions with examples. For each group of fellows, they've come to the retreat and shared work and went away with new ideas from our discussions. We supported travel. There were connections through an internal list. They began editing About Place Journal during the second group and took on recruiting writers and shaping the theme they chose.. Through Facebook and our website we reported and promoted fellow and scholar activities. We often had larger readings at conferences like AWP (American Writers and Writing Programs) [and] Split This Rock. We felt that we still needed more and wanted to enrich the fellowship experience. We went a few years figuring this out and then we decided to go to a broad application process, offer a $1000.00 annual stipend for a mutually agreed upon project, a $1000.00 stipend for editing About Place along with the feature of 2 assistant editors at $500.00 each.We still support travel to the annual meeting.
For the present group it has been three years of getting to know each other and often then sponsoring each other for readings or workshops. We have had readings at our retreats, often at ALL and at AWP these last three years. Present fellows will be involved in moving BEI forward.
ALL: What can we expect from BEI in the near future? What should we look forward to?
BEI: In the very near future, around May 1, the next issue of About Place Journal will be out. It is titled Rewilding: Recovery, Remembering, Remembrances and Reconnection with the Ancestral Wild, edited by Tammy Gomez and assistant editors Mayra Guardiola and Priscilla Ybarra. Then in mid May we will announce the next group of fellows for the 2018-2021 term. We have had 125 applicants for 6 positions. I am humbled and impressed by the range, talent and accomplishments of the people who have applied. We've heard from folks from all over the country and a few others. They are poets, essayists, sci-fi writers, playwrights, dancers, and more. They represent BEI's values of spirit, earth and society in their life and work. They range from undergrads to retired artists reconnecting with activism. Selection will be a difficult process .... Our first concern will be the quality of art and then if the artists have publications or equivalent to be respected and recognized in their field. We will still heavily lean on artists with quality writing but will be looking for some fellows who combine this with drama, performance, or other art. We still need to consider the mix of career stage, ethnicity, gender and class related issues and region among others! Again the number of wonderful people who want to do work protecting the earth and fighting for social justice with art is a good sign for our society and earth.
ALL: What do you need most from the general public? How can people get involved and/or support the mission and values of BEI? Are there upcoming volunteer or internship opportunities you'd like to tell us about?
BEI: What do we need most? Recognition and money—only half kidding. We post the calls for About Place and welcome submissions. We have readings and events locally and we certainly welcome everyone to these. We have interns during the summers and some part-time staff during the year. Brigit Rest is a little crowded this summer with my daughter and her family but I would welcome interest in internships and we can work out the details. We welcome anyone interested in volunteering, though we do most of our work out here in Black Earth.
