false 48582 2 David Abram's writing casts a spell of its own as he weaves the reader through a meticulously researched work that gently addresses such seemingly daunting topics as where the past and future exist, the relationship between space and time, and how the written word serves to sever humans from their primordial source of sustenance: the earth. "Only as the written text began to speak would the voices of the forest, and of the river, begin to fade. And only then would language loosen its ancient associations with the invisible breath, the spirit sever itself from the wind, the psyche dissociate itself from the environing air," writes Abram of the separation caused by the proliferation of the written word. In writing <I>The Spell of the Sensuous</I>, Abram consulted an engaging collection of peoples and works. He uses aboriginal song lines, stories from the Koyukon people of northwestern Alaska, the philosophy of phenomenology, and the speeches of Socrates to paint a poetic landscape that explains how we became separated from the earth in the first place. With minimal environmental doomsaying, Abram discusses how we can begin to recover a sustainable relationship with the earth and the nonhuman beings who live among us--in the more-than-human world. <I>--Kathryn True</I> 915422 1996 The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World total:353|5:186|4:102|3:50|2:8|1:7| 353 1511 635 82 4 4 false false Tue Jul 31 22:28:19 -0700 2007 Tue Jul 31 22:28:48 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 2 false false Fri Dec 07 12:44:43 -0800 2007 Fri Feb 22 22:42:32 -0800 2008
1) Abram is far too quick to succumb to reducing Judeo-Christian sensibilities to the villainous role here. In doing so, he's exacerbating the dialectic gulf he's making otherwise noteworthy leaps toward bridging. I had a hunch he'd be headed down this ...more...]]> 5 2 false false Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2001 Sun May 04 19:43:07 -0700 2008 Sun May 04 19:55:04 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 2 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2000 Fri Feb 01 04:56:07 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 01 05:07:21 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon Aug 31 11:47:55 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 12 06:23:50 -0700 2007 Mon Aug 31 11:47:55 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 19 14:29:47 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 19 14:30:40 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Mon Jan 05 13:47:25 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 05 14:01:19 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Aug 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 31 09:30:47 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 31 10:09:38 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jun 18 09:45:17 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 13 07:55:07 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Thu Jun 12 21:38:38 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 12 21:40:34 -0700 2008 5 1 false false Tue Feb 12 15:34:38 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 12 15:36:19 -0800 2008 5 1 false false Tue Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Thu Jul 12 13:32:17 -0700 2007 Thu Jul 12 13:32:17 -0700 2007 5 0 false false Thu Jan 08 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 09 19:03:46 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 09 19:20:15 -0800 2009 "Any undue harm...more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri May 08 11:09:34 -0700 2009 Fri May 08 11:29:59 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Aug 26 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 08 13:48:52 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 28 00:07:54 -0700 2008
The first thing that amazes me about this book is how poetic David Abram's writing is on a book of theories. Page after page, I never got lost in his many abstract ideas (still new to me) because his language holds life in itself, much like his beloved Earth. ...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Jun 07 19:37:47 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 07 22:47:53 -0700 2008
Probably showing my ignorance in these subjects, but what I found most interesting is the way Abram is able to drape a reverant spiritual framework onto hard matter; in my experience, the arguments for "everything is ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2002 Sun Feb 17 09:24:57 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 17 09:38:11 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Fri Jul 27 18:59:26 -0700 2007 Thu Feb 26 01:07:11 -0800 2009
Thus does David Abram describe his close encounter with a condor in the Himalayas. Following his experiences with Nepalese holy men, Balinese shamans, and Apache story-tellers, magicia...more...]]> 0 0 false false Mon Jun 08 23:58:30 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 09 00:09:29 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun May 10 04:57:16 -0700 2009 Mon May 18 06:26:47 -0700 2009 more...]]>