(Pour la version française, voir la page précédente dans cette galerie)
A Vital Odyssey — Living within a living world (Poësia)
Patrice Photographiste
Release
To all my colleagues and friends at Flickr,
I am happy to announce the publication of my book “A Vital Odyssey—Living within a Living World (Poësia)”, in English and French versions. This digital publication is accessible for free, and it is available in multiple formats and on various digital platforms (see: Where and how to get the book, below).
For the past three years, I have worked as an author and self-publisher of this book. However, when it came time to publish, I had an uneasy feeling: is it appropriate to go ahead with the launch when the world’s skies are seriously darkening, generating tension, anxiety and chaos?
I was thinking about this impasse when a passage from the book came back to me. It reads: “Our world seems to be in crisis. . . But from the outset, I will argue the idea that there is more to admire, to rethink and to repair in this world than to despair” (p 109).
This was the very meaning I had given to “A Vital Odyssey” from its first pages: to revive our sensitivity to the primordial voices of our planet and our feeling of ecological belonging to its biosphere. From there, we could rethink our relationship with nature, and repair what can be repaired. So, the time had come to act.
This book is not a traditional photographic album. Instead, it constitutes an illustrated essay with a philosophical scope. Its first part, Roots, takes the form of an initiatory story. A sensitive being crosses a natural world that amazes him and in which he rediscovers his primordial roots, his ecological belonging, and the language to bear witness to it. In his eyes, the Earth becomes Poësia.
The second part gives its title to the book, A Vital Odyssey. It offers a more literary and analytical reflection, which draws on history, philosophy and science to try to understand why we have arrived here.
We can no longer ignore its conclusion: Inhabiting a living world requires more than the technical ingenuity that a so-called superior species can demonstrate. This species must transcend its natural impulses to demonstrate the highest ethics towards its own kind, towards other species, towards Life, and towards their common habitat. Living within a living world is a subtle and demanding art. And it is within us, and nowhere else, that lies the source of this vital art for the future of us all. Learning to cherish and respect our living world would constitute a good starting point. It would carry a salutary evolution for future generations.
This captivating and moving epic offers a perspective that I hope is lucid, benevolent and perhaps also a different regarding this vital issue of our time. I encourage you to share it with your friends and anyone else searching for a ray of hope, just like us all.
I sincerely thank my colleagues at Flickr for their support. More personal acknowledgements appear at the end of the book.
Enjoy reading! Feel free to share your comments and thoughts.
WHERE AND HOW TO GET THE BOOK
Two international digital bookstores have made it possible for me to publish this book free of charge, for you and for me, in both languages. I emphasize this.
1. On the PAYHIP platform, in EPUB format (lightened to make it easier to handle on tablets) and in PDF format. This very simple digital library does not require you to open a user account. You simply enter your email address, and you receive a thank you, that's all.
French (EPUB):
payhip.com/b/ZTIDw
French (PDF):
payhip.com/b/o5OcP
English (EPUB):
payhip.com/b/VPkEC
English (PDF):
payhip.com/b/zlhxG
EPUB and PDF formats are suitable for most devices. EPUB is generally preferred. Windows PC users should make sure they have an EPUB reader installed on their device to read this format. If necessary, you can get it here:
apps.microsoft.com/detail/9PFSPMJKKQHT?hl=neutral&gl=...
2. On APPLE BOOKS, in EPUB full format (large format, ideal for computers and Apple tablets) in about sixty countries. You must have an Apple account or open one to download the book. Windows PC users are invited to follow the procedures recommended by Apple and Microsoft.
French:
books.apple.com/us/book/id6742410237
English:
books.apple.com/us/book/id6742412144
Please note: The book will soon be available for free download from various public institutions, including Library and Archives Canada and “Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec”.
Links will be added here when available.
