Anne Waldman

Manatee /Humanity

(Penguin Poets)

Anne Waldman guides us through this book-length poetry-and-prose meditation on endangered species by describing an initiation ceremony designed to instill a deeper sense of compassion. In our conversation, she explores the possibility of a neurological basis for compassion, positing the presence of "mirror neurons." We also discuss a darker possibility: What if the future of ecology means learning to live in—and with—our trash?