Let's get Braiding Sweetgrass

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants is the second creative nonfiction book by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, Professor of Environmental and Forest Biology, member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation and in 2022 was named a MacArthur Fellow for ‘her work in reconceptualising the relationship between nature and humans.’ A publishing sensation, the book appears in nine languages and has been described as ‘paradigm shifting.’ 

Braiding Sweetgrass sits within the hybrid genre of ‘new nature writing’ which combines nature writing with memoir. Through a series of essays, the book weaves together Kimmerer’s observations of the living world and our relationships to it. Kimmerer’s writing is direct, clear, at times humorous, and compassionate. Her love of plants and humanity is evident in each of her essays, which range from the role of creation stories to her family’s relationship with their neighbour Hazel Barnett, who has ‘iron-gray hair [. . .] drawn into a bun at the back of her neck with a corona of white wisps standing out like sun rays around her toothless face.’ Kimmerer’s skill for precisely observing and capturing detail, combined with her love of poetry and language, animates the entire book. 

This book will appeal to anyone curious about the relationship between science and indigenous knowledge (within a North American context), and who enjoys reading about other lives – both plant and human. 

We’ll be discussing Braiding Sweetgrass in the next nonfiction book club meeting at 5.30pm on Thursday 6th July, at Cinema Paradiso. 

All are welcome to join the discussion, whether you have read the book or not. 

Reviewed by Esther