Nora Smith
Staff Writer
At 2 p.m. yesterday, the Hall of Philosophy brimmed with audience members eager for author and journalist Anna North’s presentation of Week One’s Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle selection, Bog Queen: A Novel.
North began by telling the story of the Lindow Woman, who inspired the book, then took the audience through how each character came to be while reading excerpts from each narration.
Focusing on the voice of the bog, its importance in the book and the ecosystem outside of it, North revealed her purpose for including this unusual perspective.
“What I actually wanted here was for us to take a step way, way back and realize that we, as humans, are not the center of this world,” North said. “Whole ecosystems of living beings existed before we crept down out of the trees, or whatever it is, and whole ecosystems will exist long after we’re gone.”
North concluded the presentation with the larger message about how humans can change their perspectives on the earth, take care of it and reframe the relationship they share with the larger ecosystem.
“That’s another shift in perspective that I think we can all make, to stop assuming that we — as humans — are always the main characters, and to see what the world looks like if we just stand aside a little bit and make room for something else,” North said.
