The gift economy is in the air in Bayfield, WI.
The Bayfield Carnegie Library and CORE Community Resources —Bayfield’s Elder Resource hub and community center— are hosting a public read-along of Robin Wall Kimmerer’s newest NYT best seller, The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World. Robin Wall Kimmerer is an ethnobotanist, an acclaimed science writer, and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation.
In The Serviceberry, readers follow Kimmerer as she harvests serviceberries (a fruit also known as juneberries, or saskatoons) in the company of her local bird population, all working to fill their bellies. She muses on the teachings of success through generosity that plants offer, explaining: “Serviceberries show us another model, one based upon reciprocity, where wealth comes from the quality of your relationships, not from the illusion of self-sufficiency.” By combining the wisdom of the economy of the serviceberry and the traditional ecological knowledge of the Potawatomi nation, Kimmerer offers us a map to chart our mutual flourishing.
Bayfield Carnegie Library and CORE staff want community members to be asking themselves what an economy of gifts could look like here on the Chequamegon Peninsula. In her 32 years working at the Bayfield Carnegie Library, Director Teresa Weber has learned to understand libraries as a natural place for the gift economy. When asked what brought on this community read, she said:
“I’ve recently noticed folks being anxious and wondering how they’ll get by. Folks come to the library looking for leads on help, asking us if we know anyone who can do this job or that task. We’re already “cataloging” the needs and capabilities of our community, (available housing, gardeners, movers of heavy objects, sitting quietly with others), but I’ve been longing for a way to organize these gifts: this new program is a more fully formed version of something I’ve been slowly working towards. I want to help folks get comfortable with the idea that everyone has something to give, no matter the size, and that it’s ok to ask for help. It’s not a sign of weakness, but a strength. It involves trust and hope, and I like that idea.”
Brie Roland, the Programs Manager at CORE shared the following:
“Reading The Serviceberry is an inspirational way for folks to engage with the ideas of the gift economy and the feelings of abundance that may or may not be already present in the community. We hope people start to think about what they have to gift one another, and how they’re in relationship with each other and the community.”
The project between the Bayfield Library and CORE has hopes to be something stronger and more lasting than just one community read-along. Roland shared:
“Teresa came to me and asked, do you want to start a gift economy? And I said: Yes! How do we do that? So we’re starting with something bite sized —one engaging perspective from Robin Wall Kimmerer— asking folks to engage with an idea, to come together and share our feelings and what came up with us as we read. There’s a lot of railing against what we don’t want: I think that’s valid, but simultaneously we need to create spaces where we’re being generative. I hope for this whole process: the book reading, engaging with these ideas, having our own ideas in relation to these stories, the upcoming potluck, and building that generative space. I’m so excited to hear what people think, what people are inspired to say, do, give, or be because of the conversations that are starting and the attention we’re giving to these ideas.”
When asked about working collaboratively with the library Roland offered:
“CORE and the library have extremely aligned missions: CORE has a focus on older adults, and since the Library is a place where families and children often gather, I’m excited to put on a collaborative program that will be supportive to both of our institutions, and to the community at large. There are a lot of hardships in the world: organizations like CORE set out to improve those hardships, but no single organization can move the needle alone. Synergy from working together can bring about new ideas for how to manage those hardships. We’re here to weave a new web of solidarity and connection to hold everyone up.”
The read-along includes a bookmark with discussion questions, culminating in a potluck discussion on November 13th at 6PM at CORE Resource Center. Books are available to borrow from Bayfield Library (37 North Broad Street) and CORE (257 Manypenny Ave) and for purchase at Honest Dog Books and Apostle Island Booksellers, both in Bayfield. Readers who have finished the book are asked to pass it on to someone they think will enjoy it or return it to the Library or CORE. They can pick up a button declaring they are ready to talk about The Serviceberry with other members of the community.
In a markedly hopeful air, Teresa offered, “I feel we’re ready to share our abundance: we’re not taking away from ourselves, but sharing from what we each have an abundance of, be it time, wealth, or ideas.
Respectfully submitted by Annunziata Feldis, member of the Bayfield Library Board of Directors.