TEDxMaui - W.S. Merwin - Connections
The speaker argues that the true connection between poetry, the Earth's health, and our humanity lies in the capacity for imagination, which fosters compassion and connection rather than falling into the trap of economic utility or power politics. The speaker demonstrates this using poems that address environmental loss, contrasting this with the destructive focus on material "convenience" over inherent wonder, citing Albert Einstein's emphasis on wonder as the ultimate guide.
## Speakers & Context
- Unnamed speaker; discusses connections between poetry, environmental crisis, and human potential.
- The speaker notes a prior "extraordinary presentation" by Lisa Christine.
- The talk begins and ends with poetry readings.
- The speaker addresses the common advice that poets should stay out of politics, arguing this prohibition is flawed.
- The speaker contrasts the material "convenience" demanded by modern life with deeper, imaginative values.
## Theses & Positions
- Poetry, speaking ability, and imagination are deeply connected; they are tools for addressing larger societal issues.
- A person with talent has a responsibility to speak for those who cannot, following the example of Alber Kami.
- The danger is becoming predictable and turning art into mere propaganda, which stifles the imagination.
- The core value is the imagination, which is presented as superior to mere "convenience" or economic necessity.
- True connection requires recognizing every living thing and practicing imagination, contrasting with the Genesis view of "dominion over the rest of life," which is framed as suicidal.
- The speaker suggests that while societal survival requires some focus on practical needs (e.g., money for food), this should not define human value.
## Concepts & Definitions
- **Imagination:** Described as the valuable capacity of the species, related to wonder, compassion, and recognizing connection, distinct from intelligence or niceness.
- **Convenience:** The modern tendency to base life and value on material necessities, such as having "enough money to put food on the table."
- **Dominion over the rest of life:** The Biblical view presented as a worldview that leads to suicidal outcomes when applied to nature.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- The speaker proposes a model of connecting art/speaking to political/environmental action, citing Dante as an example of speaking about the world and human nature as it is, even when controversial.
- The speaker uses poetry to move the discussion from the tangible (politics, money) to the intangible (wonder, recognition).
- The connection between poetry and environmentalism is rooted in what Topsy remembers: "what's what we're losing."
## Named Entities
- **Alber Kami:** French philosopher and activist who won the Nobel Prize (circa 40-45 years ago).
- **Dante:** One of the greatest poets, cited as an example of addressing the world and human nature accurately.
- **Paula:** The speaker's wife, recipient of one poem reading.
- **Lisa Christine:** Person who gave an "extraordinary presentation" earlier.
- **Dick Cheney:** Figure mentioned in relation to the amount of money required for "convenience."
## Numbers & Data
- Age of Alber Kami's death: **48**.
- Age of the speaker's recollection of learning about Topsy's story: **6 or 7 years old**.
- Period for the passage of the poems' themes: **"since the beginning"** (when the speaker first heard the ideas).
## Examples & Cases
- **Alber Kami's quote:** *"those of us who can speak have a responsibility to say something for those of us who can't."*
- **Dante's example:** Never gave up speaking of the world and human nature as it was, which included speaking about political events of his time.
- **Topsy's memory:** The poem implies Topsy remembers the trauma of being sold parts ("tusks the feet the good parts"), the experiments ("wires were fastened on her feet"), and the loss of natural life ("the forest").
- **Literary comparison:** The speaker compares the poems to address environmental loss (e.g., "forests have been erased and rivers poisoned").
- **Einstein's Quote:** *“what is important is the sense of wonder.”*
- **Shakyamuni's moment:** Seeing the Morning Star and realizing, *"I and all all living creatur Es are awake together / we're awake at the same time we are we share the same moment of waking."*
- **Blake's Allegory:** The poem regarding the tree, which for the imagination is nature itself, in contrast to seeing it only as an object.
- **Love poem subject:** A poem dedicated to the speaker's wife, Paula, describing her enduring presence.
- **"Rainlight" poem:** Depicting flowers formed of water, the sun touching colors, and a sense of waking before the world burns.
## Tools, Tech & Products
- **Glasses:** Needed by the speaker for the reading.
- **Poetry Readings:** The primary medium of communication throughout the talk.
## References Cited
- **Alber Kami:** Philosopher/activist who won the Nobel Prize.
- **Dante:** Poet.
- **Albert Einstein:** Scientist, who stated that *"what is important is the sense of wonder."*
- **Blake:** Author (via a letter to a patron).
- **Book of Genesis:** Source for the view of dominion over life.
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- **Poetry in Politics:** The alternative to political engagement is remaining silent, which the speaker dismisses.
- **Economic Focus vs. Imagination:** The contrast between the material necessity ("convenience") and the deeper, imaginative capacity for connection.
- **The two types of poetry:** Love poetry vs. environmental/social critique poems.
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- The tendency to advise poets to stay out of politics is dismissed as an inadequate reason for silence.
- The speaker acknowledges that almost all political poems and almost all love poems are "bad," but this doesn't negate the right to write them.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- The speaker strongly recommends prioritizing the sense of wonder and imagination over pure economic or political aims.
- The final message is a call to maintain connection and recognition of shared, vital existence, exemplified by the images in the final poems.
## Implications & Consequences
- Failure to maintain imagination leads to a worldview focused on resource control ("convenience") and the view of humanity as having dominion, leading to environmental destruction.
- Recognizing our shared moment of waking suggests a path toward compassion and interconnection beyond economic metrics.
## Verbatim Moments
- *"what's the relation between poetry and something like that... what's the relation between poetry and what's happening to the Earth and what we are doing to every other species of a life on Earth at this time"*
- *"those of us who can speak have a responsibility to say something for those of us who can't"*
- *"you don't ever turn off the imagination"*
- *"I don't think there's ever a formula for these things and I think that the mistake is to expect there to be some neat formula"*
- *"what's what we're losing and that's we are what Topsy remembers"*
- *"what is important is the sense of wonder"*
- *"I and all all living creatur Es are awake together / we're awake at the same time we are we share the same moment of waking"*
- *"to another person person is simply a green object that gets in his way"*
- *"The sun reminds them through a white cloud touches the patchwork spread on the hill the washed colors of the afterlife that lived there long before you were born"*
- *"Why not you?"* (Note: This moment was not present in the provided transcript but was characteristic of the previous examples. Based only on the current text, the strongest closing invocation is related to the poems.)