Five Hundred Words and Thirty-Two Words for Field – Marie Mutsuki Mockett, Manchán Magan

This week’s episode features two stories that show how languages tied to land can transcend the duality between our inner and outer worlds. In “Five Hundred Words,” Marie Mutuski Mockett considers what may become of the timeless tradition of haiku, nurtured over generations, when the seasonal words it relies on no longer reflect our ecological reality. The second story is an excerpt from the book Thirty-Two Words for Field, by the late Manchán Magan, that invites us into landscapes known intimately through the Irish language . Narrated by Manchán’s brother, Ruán, this excerpt is layered with folklore, proverbs, and cultural memory.

Read Marie Mutsuki Mockett.

Read Manchán Magan.

Credit: Matt Dutile / Gallery Stock