At a time of global environmental crisis, poets, artists and musicians have something essential to say – and deserve to be listened to.
Debates should extend beyond science and politics alone, and welcome the voices of artists who reveal our ties to nature and pay tribute to it. Solutions to the deepest problems of any age cannot be found solely on an intellectual level, but first and foremost on an emotional one. It is the artist’s role to widen our empathy, deepen our connections and remind us how much we stand to lose if we fall short of our responsibilities.
If we fail to listen, there is risk, in James Joyce’s words, that this “generation, educated or hyper-educated as it is, will lack those qualities of humanity, of hospitality, of kindly humour which belonged to an older day”, and fail to recognize that we are human by virtue of being connected to something greater than ourselves.
Artists give us the power of hope, in this field like in every other – they offer our thoughts and our actions what Jean Jaurès called “the full scope of the horizon and the full height of the sky”.
François Holmey
London, 8 August 2015
Our selection of poems, music and images for all five weeks of this theme is available by clicking on the tabs above or through the links below:
I. Week One
II. Week Two
III. Week Three
IV. Week Four
V. Week Five