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The language of plants and animals
The language of plants and animals
There are more and more scientific findings that show that animals have rich and complex languages with structural rules that allow them to design strategies, give advice, show love to each other and even gossip. And plants, although perhaps not so expressive, are not far behind in communication.
There is no doubt that nature "speaks". The problem is that we humans don't listen. But what exactly does it tell us? And more importantly, if we managed to have a relationship with plants and animals, what would it teach us about language and about ourselves?
To talk about this interesting topic, two specialists in the language of nature will meet at the FIL Guadalajara: the Dutch writer, Eva Meijer, whose book When Animals Speak: Toward an Interspecies Democracy was awarded the ASCA Book Award in 2020; and Colombian writer, Mariana Matija, whose most recent book, Niñapájaroglaciar, teaches us to recognize ourselves as part of the Earth.
Participants: Eva Meijer, Mariana Matija
Moderator: María Emilia Beyer
Eva Meijer
(Netherlands, 1980)
Eva Meijer is a philosopher, visual artist, writer and singer-songwriter. They write novels, philosophical essays, academic texts, poems and columns, and their work has been translated into over twenty languages. Recurring themes are language including silence, madness, nonhuman animals, and politics.
Their philosophical work mostly focuses on language, democracy and social justice, with special attention for nonhuman animals and nature. Meijer currently writes columns and essays for Dutch newspaper NRC.
Their first novel Het schuwste dier (Prometheus) was published in 2011. Short stories and poems have been published in Dutch and Flemish literary magazines, such as De Revisor, Tirade and De Brakke Hond. Their second novel Dagpauwoog was published in November 2013, to critical acclaim. In 2016 the book Dierentalen (Animal Languages) was published, a popular philosophical book about nonhuman animal languages and the question what language actually is. Their third novel Het vogelhuis (Bird Cottage), was published in September 2016 and chosen as one of the books of the month by DWDD book panel on national television. It won the readers' prize of the BNG Bank Literatuurprijs. Dierentalen and Het vogelhuis are translated into Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Swedish and Turkish. In 2017 De soldaat was een dolfijn was published, an essay about political animals, which won the 2018 Hypatia prize. In 2018 Meijer won the Halewijnprijs for all their books. In 2019, De grenzen van mijn taal was published, a philosophical essay about depression. Voorwaarts, a novel, was also published that year. When animals speak: Towards an interspecies democracy, an academic book, came out in November 2019 (New York University Press) and was awarded the ASCA Book Award in 2020. In 2020 their novel De nieuwe rivier was published, a magical-realist murder mystery. In 2021 Meijer wrote the essay for the Dutch Month of Philosophy: Vuurduin. Aantekeningen bij een wereld die verdwijnt. In the same year, the novella Haar vertrouwde gedaante was published. In 2022 Meijer published three books: a novel called Zee Nu, in which the North Sea floods the Netherlands, Verwar het niet met afwezigheid. Over politieke stiltes, an essay about politics and silence, and Misschien is een ander woord voor hoop. Een pleidooi voor meerstemmigheid in het politieke en publieke debat a pamflet about the public debate, and the role of language in politics. In 2023, the poetry collection Het witste woord and the novel Dagen van glas were published.
Other activities involving the participant:
European Literature Festival
Echoes of FIL
Mariana Matija
Mariana Matija es un animal que dibuja y escribe. Su trabajo se centra en la exploración creativa, la educación y la comunicación en torno a la regeneración de nuestra relación individual y colectiva con la Tierra. Desde el club ecologista que fundó en la infancia, y después con su blog, newsletter, pódcast, libros y talleres, se ha dedicado a compartir ideas, prácticas y herramientas para cultivar vidas que cuiden de la Tierra y de todos sus seres (incluyéndonos a nosotros mismos). Dirige y cuida una comunidad online que funciona como una red de cuidado y coaprendizaje para quienes quieren cultivar vidas con sentido en medio de la crisis, compartiendo prácticas que nutren la atención, el cuidado y el asombro. Su libro más reciente, Niñapájaroglaciar, explora la relación con la belleza, el dolor, el amor, la extinción, el lenguaje, la memoria, el paisaje como cuerpo, y el cuerpo como paisaje en el fin de un mundo (que es también un principio).
Other activities involving the participant:
Written with ink and chlorophyll
María Emilia Beyer
She is an expert in telling stories about science in exhibitions, radio, television and written media. She loves reading and writing; she is the author of nine popular science books for children and young people. She loves to design interactive exhibitions, such as Ciencia con sabor a chocolate and Mujeres inventoras. She works tirelessly to bring girls closer to science; she has been a master mentor of the New York Academy of Sciences for the international program 1000 Girls, 1000 Futures. Internationally, she is a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) and of the Board of Directors of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) for Mexico. Since 2020 she has held the position of Director of Universum, the Science Museum of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Her favorite role in life is to be Mily's mom.
Other activities involving the participant:
Literature between dogs and cats
The letters of the garden
Wild sex
Mental health in the virtual world
Space science
FIL Guadalajara, with the support of Embajada del Reino de los Países Bajos en México and Ministerio de las Culturas, las Artes y los Saberes de Colombia
Monday, December 02
18:00 to 18:50