Olivia Sprinkel & Thembe Mvula
Notes on ‘Human.Kind’/Kindness: Teachings from Mother Tree
Thembe
The first thing that came to mind when considering the theme of ‘Human.Kind’ was the sense that kindness is essential to our survival as humans. I recalled one of my favourite poems, Kindness by Naomi Shihab Nye, and how it relayed this idea so perfectly. How when stripped of everything and forced to rebuild from the basics, kindness softens suffering and allows us to heal from pain.
When I remember moments of receiving unexpected kindness from a stranger or someone close to me, I think of how that generosity expands and inspires me to extend it to others. Like a positive infection that when spread helps to nourish the soul rather than weaken it. But what is it that makes it so hard to access sometimes, when we need it so much? Why does the need for kindness, to others and to ourselves, slip away so easily when we’re too busy, too afraid or overwhelmed by life’s demands? How do we remain tethered to kindness as a principle to live by regardless of circumstances?
To be kind is to be sensitive to other beings around us, to their existence, needs and suffering. It was as we thought of this that Olivia steered us to how survival through sensitivity to one another’s needs is inherent in the DNA of trees. Dr. Suzanne Simard coined the term ‘wood wide web’ to capture the intricate process behind how trees support each other. What stood out to me when reading up about this was the expansive qualities and creative possibilities that the process is rich with. “I don’t think there’s ever going to be a shortage of an ability to form a network,” Simard says. And with this, trees seemed to be the perfect exemplars of kindness that humankind can learn from to help sustain us.
Olivia
Working on the collaboration with Thembe was a small example of forming a network, as we shared our thoughts on kindness and poems on the theme with each other, each exchange building our common understanding of kindness and ultimately leading to the creative expression of the poem.
Having exchanged initial ideas via email and over Zoom, we met in person at Tate Modern. Over hot chocolate, we got to know each other a little better. We are both vegan, which brought us into a discussion about kindness to other species. It was at this point that trees cropped up in the conversation.
Thembe had mentioned the contrapuntal form, with two columns which can be read either vertically or across. I thought this would work well, accommodating both our voices. Sitting together, we spent ten minutes free-writing, which became the starting point for our poem. Back at home, we translated this free-write into verse form, and popped it side-by-side into a Google document. Seeing the words together then led us into experimenting with the form, to make it more tree-like and organic, with roots and branches. We hope that the poem itself is a place of kindness and spaciousness, where people will pause and rest awhile.
The poems are being displayed as part of the 26 Connections exhibition during the Bloomsbury Festival and until mid-November. The exhibition features interpretations of the poetry by artists from the Lettering Arts Trust. The exhibition is free at the Building Centre, 26 Store Street, London WC1E 7BT