Christian McEwen
In Praise of Listening, Slowing Down, and Creativity
Listening connects us to a world that's slowly dwindling far beyond our reach, according to Christian McEwen, author of In Praise of Listening (2023) and World Enough & Time: On Creativity and Slowing Down (2011). She uses the word "listening" not only for the work of our ears but as an extended metaphor for openness and receptivity - rippling out from the self-centered human to the farthest reaches of the non-human world. She captures accounts of listening as a powerful pathway to access realities forgotten and hidden, ranging from intimate anecdotes from family and friends to transformational social narratives from researchers, healers, activists, and more. Even in her early work as a poet, listening was key to expressing what is experienced beyond the immediately visible. Her work grapples with a range of topics, including gender. She listens deeply to lived experiences. Her thesis as a writer is simple: stories give rise to other stories, and courage and clarity inspire more of the same. "In a world of racket and distraction, generous, expansive listening is increasingly under siege. But it remains a skill worth honoring, worth passing on."
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