The Imaginarium
DIRT’s editor Alice Willitts introduces the Imaginarium, a new collaborative, forward thinking project supported with a generous grant awarded by the Sustainable Futures Fund.
Image credit: Martin Neuhold
Once upon a time... I had an idea for bringing together the writers who inspire me with their writing and beingness. I spoke of how once I’d gathered us in, we would collectively redesign the publishing of our stories and poems to lovingly disrupt and change the way things are done now. We would ask our consciences for ideas on how we can be eco-voices without the conflict of putting out more-more-more ‘stuff’ that damages our home. We’d figure out how to resource writers for eco-conversations with publishers and printers and agents and we’d make a concise manifesto that would be a guiding light along the way of change. We would pledge to deliberately unknow what we know and come with not-knowing-minds to create fabulous, weirder, queerer, boundary-crossing, collaborative thinking that might teach us something precious about how to remove the carbon footprint of our industry. We’d become a writerly ecobody, grounded in its own interests and agitating with compassion from within the publishing industry we find ourselves in. The bloom of our collective flair for action would be so bright and vivacious that even the sun would doff its cap in our general direction!
Powerful dreams have a way of sticking around, so I spoke out loud of my desire and I called it an Imaginarium because it wouldn’t be an incubator or an un-conference, it would be something uniquely of itself and for us. Then one day, someone I’d told about my Imaginarium said, go to a place called Thrive and find a woman called Sarah, who shares her last name with the village south of where you live. When you find this woman, tell her your dream. She will be able to help you. And so it was. And here we are!
The ‘Seeds in the DIRT Imaginarium on ecopoetics and storytelling’ is happening at Anglia Ruskin University, from 19 - 21st April, 2024, hosted by Dr Sarah Royston (ARU) and funded by a generous grant from the Sustainable Futures Fund.
Alice Willitts
Alice Willitts is a poet and plantswoman from the Fens and editor of DIRT, the ecopoetry imprint of Dialect Press. Alice’s latest collaboration, with Clare Whistler — two poets and an oak tree: Something Light Written — is out from Elephant Press. They’ll be touring the 26 minute performance next year so if you have a beloved oak tree you’d like them to perform with, please get in touch somethinglightwritten@gmail.com
