S5E4: Writing Water

Nikiwe Solomon and Lucas Bessire share their experiences of researching and writing about rivers in Cape Town and aquifers in Kansas. They contemplate the language of denialism, depletion and toxicity, anthropology as activism, redefining value, and responding to the planetary crisis.

Nikiwe Solomon is an early career researcher and lecturer in the Environmental Humanities South programme, working at the interface of science, technology, politics and urban river and water management in the Anthropology Department at the University of Cape Town. 

Lucas Bessire is a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Oklahoma. He is the author of Behold the Black Caiman: a Chronicle of Ayoreo Life (University of Chicago Press, 2014). His recent book, Running Out: In Search of Water on the High Plains (Princeton University Press, 2021), was a finalist for the 2021 National Book Awards

In this episode we stand in solidarity with Venezuelan writer Milagros Mata-Gil. You can read more about her case here: https://pen-international.org/news/venezuela-drop-charges-against-milagros-mata-gil-and-juan-manuel-munoz

Update: We are deeply saddened to learn that Milagros Mata-Gil passed away on 7 July 2023. We join the PEN community in mourning her and send our condolences to her loved ones. You can read more here and here. 

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