Reanimating the World: Ecopsychology, Mystery, and Poetry

Part of the Art and Healing Series

Larry Robinson with Host Irwin Keller

Join New School Host Irwin Keller in conversation with psychotherapist, poet, politician, and activist Larry Robinson. In his wide-ranging work, Larry Robinson addresses the ways in which the world is in need of healing—both on a macro level and in our own suffering souls. He brings to this work a sense of mystery, an openness to paradox, a mythological imagination, an expertise in the new field of ecopsychology and an infectious love of poetry. Join us to discuss how politics, psychology, and poetry can dance together.

Poetry recited at the event includes:

“A Brief For The Defense” by Jack Gilbert

“Snowflakes” by Larry Robinson

“The Cure,” Seamus Heaney’s translation of “The Philoctetes,” by Sophocles

“The Way It Is” by William Stafford

“Kindness” by Naomi Shihab Nye

“An Arab Shepherd” by Yahuda Amichai

Listen (audio only)

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Larry Robinson

Larry is a psychotherapist, thinker, politician, and poet. As an ecopsychologist, he works to shift our view of psychology from that of fixing a broken apparatus to that of witnessing and nurturing complex soul work. This soul work involves looking beyond our limited commercial culture and making use of nature, mythology, and storytelling to restore a sense of wholeness. A former mayor of Sebastopol, Larry also engages in political and social action, traveling the world to identify new ways of thinking and healing, and translating them back into our culture. In Larry’s view, awakening to healing—both personally and globally—requires an awakening to beauty. This view has made him both a poet and a lifelong purveyor of poetry. His spoken word poetry salons are famous, and his poetry lovers’ listserve, where he posts uncannily apt poetry daily, has more than 1,200 subscribers. His recent volume of poetry, Roll Away the Stone, is available from your favorite online retailer.

Rabbi Irwin Keller

Host

Irwin has served as spiritual leader of Congregation Ner Shalom in Sonoma County since 2008, a post he took while still writing and performing with the San Francisco-based Kinsey Sicks, known as America’s Favorite Dragapella Beautyshop Quartet. His legal advocacy work included authoring the City of Chicago’s first comprehensive human rights law, in effect since 1989, and serving as the Executive Director of the AIDS Legal Referral Panel of the San Francisco Bay Area. Photo: Adam Shemper.