Author Archives: Makere

About Makere

A transplanted New Zealand Scots/Maori academic/grandmother/random singer and sometime activist, my life is shaped by a deep conviction of the necessity for active critical engagement in the multi-faceted global and local crises of being and survival of species that confront us in the 21st century, the urgency of re-visioning the meaning of thriving together, and the contribution of Indigenous knowledge systems to a truly sustainable and just global society.

The tragedy of two Australias: A lament for New Year’s Eve 

Posted on January 1, 2020 by Makere

Professor Danielle Celermajer This is Australia. This morning my phone rang, and a woman’s voice said: “It’s all gone.” My friend was standing on the blackened ground, emerging from where she had been lying on the floor of her garage … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthropocene, Climate Change, Ecological catastrophe, Environment, Survival | 2 Comments

Exiled Clay

Posted on December 15, 2019 by Makere

John Donahue I am not sure youlive anywhere, nocord of clay holdsyou moored. The air is brittleand cannot settlenear your attention. Your cell hasno cloister forabandon anoints you. To what placebelongs the red bushof your blood? Who could travelyour mountains … Continue reading →

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The Power of One: Cleaning Up the Coastline, One Person at a Time, with Barrel Bag — Discover

Posted on December 15, 2019 by Makere

Environmental activist and teen founder Tucker Grooms created his nonprofit, Barrel Bag, to make it easier for people to clean up trash at the beach. His website has grown into the online hub of the organization. The Power of One: Cleaning … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

On a Wonderful, Beautiful, Almost Failed Sentence By Virginia Woolf | Literary Hub

Posted on June 26, 2017 by Makere

“Considering how common illness is, how tremendous the spiritual change that it brings, how astonishing, when the lights of health go down, the undiscovered countries that are then disclosed, what wastes and deserts of the soul a slight attack of … Continue reading →

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A Sparrow Alighted Upon Our Shoulder

Posted on June 10, 2017 by Makere

Originally posted on Live & Learn:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHWX_yR7wrk Jóhann Jóhannsson, 47, was born in Reykjavík, Iceland. He has been composing music for a wide array of media including theatre, dance, TV and films. His stately, slow-building and hauntingly melodic music, frequently combines electronics with classical…

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Reflections on Our Pilgrimage Into Society | By Gabriele Castagnoli, Sesto Castagnoli in Kosmos Journal

Posted on May 19, 2017 by Makere

In February 2016, we started out on a pilgrimage—one with no time limit. Beforehand, we had given away all our possessions except the contents of our two rucksacks. The wish to do so came up when we were planning our … Continue reading →

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Neoliberalism is creating loneliness. That’s what’s wrenching society apart | George Monbiot | Opinion | The Guardian

Posted on April 16, 2017 by Makere

From the wonderful George Monbiot, originally published in the Guardian Wednesday 12 October 2016 06.30 BST What greater indictment of a system could there be than an epidemic of mental illness? Yet plagues of anxiety, stress, depression, social phobia, eating … Continue reading →

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Spring came early this year

Posted on April 1, 2017 by Makere

It was only the last week in March when the first geese flew northwards over the city and even earlier than that when a brown hare crossed my path, its winter coat of white quite gone. In this last week … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Living, writing | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

This Is a Poem That Heals Fish: An Almost Unbearably Wonderful Picture-Book About How Poetry Works Its Magic – Brain Pickings

Posted on March 26, 2017 by Makere

“A poem … is when you are in love and have the sky in your mouth.” BY MARIA POPOVA “Poetry can break open locked chambers of possibility, restore numbed zones to feeling, recharge desire,” Adrienne Rich wrote in contemplating the … Continue reading →

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I Explain Winter to my Future Grandson

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Makere

Originally posted on Sea Chanteys & Mexican Radio:
It was a window that kept out mosquitoes. A season both savage & dull, like a dog gnawing a bone out of boredom more than hunger. You were the bone, it the teeth…

Posted in Poetry, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 1 Comment