That was then, this is now: a new novel from Andrew Furman sets the scene from 1961 in Florida

Yes, it’s 1961 in America and everything is changing, and in Florida especially, and Florida literature professor Andrew Furman tells a spellbinding story in his new novel, 'Goldens Are Here.' Get ready: Publication date is in April.

That was then, this is now?

Jim Crow strains to maintain its hold, the Cold War escalates, the USA space program hits its stride, and a Jewish family in Florida, Mr and Mrs. Golden, are determined to begin a new pastoral life along Florida’s central east coast. They are trying to hold on to their small orange grove near the excitement of Cape Canaveral.

Furman imagines with great empathy the individual members of the Golden family and their unique struggles and dreams during a single tumultuous citrus season. Isaac Golden must reckon between his ambition to create the perfect fruit and the business realities bearing down upon him given the booming postwar demand for cheap frozen concentrate; his beautiful wife, Melody, finds herself testing the boundaries that had so clearly governed her more conventional life in suburban Philadelphia; and their chronically ill son, Eli, wishes only to muster his strength so that he might enjoy the wide open outdoors and see a bobcat.

Inspired by true events surrounding a historic Florida citrus season and the civil rights struggle in a region not immediately associated with the movement, this novel offers a glimpse of the sea changes occurring in Florida and America as a whole in the 1960s through the prism of one family’s negotiations with the land, their neighbors, and with each other.

Published by Green Writers Press in Vermont for a national readership. International too!

Jeff VanderMeer has warmly and personally endorsed the rising new genre of ''cli-fi'' -- and cli-fi novelists as well -- in far-ranging Q&A with reporter John Maher

Yes, in a long interview with a prestigious American magazine, ''Annihilation'' author Jeff VanderMeer has warmly and personally endorsed the rising new genre of ''cli-fi'' -- and cli-fi novelists as well -- in far-ranging Q&A with reporter John Maher at Pacific Standard magazine.

VanderMeer sat down with Pacific Standard to discuss that future, his books, and why "anyone" -- not just science fiction writers -- can write cli-fi.

Link here.

John Maher: Do you think science fiction and speculative fiction are particularly well equipped to address present environmental issues?

JVM: I don't think it's a particular domain of science fiction. I think it's something where we all have areas where we default to foundational assumptions that we should be questioning. I have my own spots like that, I'm absolutely sure, but it's certainly not when it comes to animal behavior science and things like that.
It's an issue for discussion because I think mainstream literary realism is just as well equipped. And I do want to push science fiction writers to think more about these issues because science fiction can also fall back on old defaults of plot and trope that are not useful to exploring these things. Sometimes you need new fictional modes. You hear the term cli-fi, for example, and I've heard some science fiction writers say, "Well, why do we need that when we have the term 'science fiction'?" Well, because it means climate fiction, and anyone can write climate fiction. It's not necessarily science fiction—it's not necessarily set in the future! And the reason is that it's happening right now. Climate change is happening right now. The future is happening right now.

Jeff VanderMeer is one of America's most important and well-read novelists exploring climate change in his short stories and novels.

He told Maher during the interview: ''This has always been my issue, so to speak — the thing that I'm interested in. And even my work in the '90s and '80s dealt with climate change to some degree, so it's hard to pinpoint, because for Annihilation and those books, I didn't have to do any research. I just had to make sure that most of the biology was OK. I actually sent it to some biologists and physicists and stuff, and just basically was along the lines of, "Is this within the realm of possibility?"

''I've always written about what you might call "weird biology." I've always been drawn to animals like squid and to organisms like fungus, so when you research that, you kind of as a byproduct come across stuff that has to do with ecology and environmental issues and things like that. There are seminal texts that I remember — there's a lot of Rachel Carson's stuff that really stuck in my memory because it's very poetic and lyrical at the same time that it's evoking landscapes that, to some degree, no longer exist.

''Also, my dad is a scientist — he's an entomologist — and there are certain ways that his study of invasive species, like fire ants, touches on these issues. And my daughter works for a sustainability company. She actually wrote part of that World Wildlife report on what we need to do to survive 30 years.''

''Annihilation'' author Jeff VanderMeer warmly and personally endorses the rising new genre of ''cli-fi'' and cli-fi novelists as well in Q&A with John Maher at Pacific Standard magazine (link here)

Yes! ''Annihilation'' author Jeff VanderMeer has warmly and personally endorsed the rising new genre of ''cli-fi'' and cli-fi novelists as well. 

Over at Pacific Standard magazine, Jeff warmly and personally endorsed and championed the rising cli-fi genre and cli-fi novelists, telling John Maher in a Q&A there: 

''Sometimes you need new fictional modes. You hear the term cli-fi, for example, and I've heard some science fiction writers say, "Well, why do we need that when we have the term 'science fiction'?" Well, because it means climate fiction, and anyone can write climate fiction. It's not necessarily science fiction—it's not necessarily set in the future! And the reason is that it's happening right now. Climate change is happening right now. The future is happening right now.'']

FULL MAHER QUESTION AND JVM ANSWER:

MAHER: Do you think science fiction and speculative fiction are particularly well equipped to address present environmental issues?

JVM: I don't think it's a particular domain of science fiction. I think it's something where we all have areas where we default to foundational assumptions that we should be questioning. I have my own spots like that, I'm absolutely sure, but it's certainly not when it comes to animal behavior science and things like that.

It's an issue for discussion because I think mainstream literary realism is just as well equipped. And I do want to push science fiction writers to think more about these issues because science fiction can also fall back on old defaults of plot and trope that are not useful to exploring these things. Sometimes you need new fictional modes. You hear the term cli-fi, for example, and I've heard some science fiction writers say, "Well, why do we need that when we have the term 'science fiction'?" Well, because it means climate fiction, and anyone can write climate fiction. It's not necessarily science fiction—it's not necessarily set in the future! And the reason is that it's happening right now. Climate change is happening right now. The future is happening right now.

''Annihilation'' author Jeff VanderMeer warmly and personally endorses the rising new genre of ''cli-fi'' and cli-fi novelists as well

Hi friends! And welcome new subscribers! It's been an exciting month for climate-conscious artists and writers. First, I had the great pleasure of interviewing Jeff VanderMeer for my monthly cli-fi trends "Burning Worlds" column at the Chicago Review of Books. We spoke about his new novella, The Strange Bird, and the film adaptation of his novel Annihilation--both released this month. Scroll down for a link to our chat! -- [''Annihilation'' author Jeff VanderMeer warmly and personally endorses the rising new genre of ''cli-fi'' and cli-fi novelists as well. Over at Pacific Standard magazine, Jeff warmly and personally endorsed and championed the rising cli-fi genre and cli-fi novelists, telling John Maher in a Q&A there: ''Sometimes you need new fictional modes. You hear the term cli-fi, for example, and I've heard some science fiction writers say, "Well, why do we need that when we have the term 'science fiction'?" Well, because it means climate fiction, and anyone can write climate fiction. It's not necessarily science fiction—it's not necessarily set in the future! And the reason is that it's happening right now. Climate change is happening right now. The future is happening right now.''] Below you'll also find links to some of my favorite reads this month. Need more VanderMeer? Check out his round-up of must-reads that he listed for the Strand in New York City. You'll also find a discussion of the environmentally conscious work of early 20th-century poet Don Marquis, a review of the Climate Museum's first art exhibition [note: the museum does not exist yet in physical form and won't for many more years], and a funny (and insightful) review of the "fatberg"display in London. If you're feeling philanthropic, check out the song download whose proceeds go to a good climate-related cause. And if you're feeling creative, take advantage of the opportunity to submit an original cli-fi short story  to win a $1,000 grand prize. (If you enter, tell us about the cli-fi story you submitted on Twitter using the hashtag #burningworlds.) I'm also excited to announced that this month's newsletter includes an original artist interview you can't find anywhere else. Meet recent Brown University grad Andres Chang from Westfield, New Jersey, a young 20-something artist who draws from climate research to create thought-provoking performances and art installations. We spoke recently about his latest work and why it's more important than ever to evoke climate issues in all artistic mediums. Thanks for subscribing! --Amy Brady INTERVIEW WITH CLIMATE ARTIST ANDRES CHANG Amy: Tell me about your background. Andres: I have a dual background in visual art and Earth Science from my undergrad days at Brown University, but it wasn't until fairly recently that those things began to converge. Climate science is a fascinating and relatively new field of research, and it's relevant to all of us. But one of the challenges of climate science is that it involves scales of time and space that are so different than what we humans experience in our day-to-day lives, and that makes it a really interesting subject to explore creatively. Amy: Would you say that your art has social action directive? Andres: I lean away from the term "activism art.” I think that art that is overly communicative, or too direct, is often less effective, because it's not giving people the sort of reflection that they want and need from art. So when I'm making art, I'm not trying to tell people one thing, I'm trying to make them reflect on their relationship with their environment. My newest piece is an interactive projection called "Business as Usual: 1967 to 2067." It's a projection that's derived from a climate simulation, and therefore by default, is a circular map of temperature over the arctic. It assumes that there are no humans on Earth. But when a viewer approaches the projection it changes into a "business as usual" scenario, one where humans continue polluting. The projection runs from 1967, the year of the first-ever climate simulation, to 2067 a hundred years later. The art doesn’t tell the viewer anything that's not explicit in the data, but through this activation, it speaks at a much higher volume. Amy: I’m also fascinated by another recent project of yours, “the eternal ocean.” Tell me about this piece. Andres: For “the eternal ocean” I built a massive steel buoy and launched it off the coast of Rhode Island.  I balanced on the buoy on a platform built above the waves for as long as possible. During the challenge there were microphones recording the sounds of my body—my heartbeat, my breathing—and others attached to the buoy to catch the resonances of this man made object floating out at sea. The buoy was later reconstructed in a gallery along with the sound environment captured by the mics. The viewer could hear everything—the heartbeat, the sound of the waves, but my body was absent. In a way, I was inviting the viewer to take my place on the buoy and perform for themselves my confrontation with the environment. Amy: How long were you out there? Andres: About five hours. But I didn't want to emphasize the athleticism of the project because that's not really the point. That's why the performance itself wasn't open to the public. There is photo and video documentation of the performance on a portal online, and I think that evidence is very important, but I generally keep it separate from the sound environment in the exhibition. Amy: What strikes me most about your work is that you are always exploring the relationship between the human and the natural world. What are the challenges of this relationship, and why do we have such a hard time figuring out how to have a healthy, mutually beneficial relationship with the natural world? Andres: Humans have always had an intimate connection to the climate. Twenty thousand years ago, North America was covered in a massive ice sheet. The first agrarian societies emerged only after the ice sheet melted and sea levels stabilized. Humans basically found their niche in a stable, de-glaciated climate. To this day, we remain heavily reliant on this climate, but that carefully balanced relationship has largely been overshadowed by capital and by the effects of globalism. So, one of the things I'm really worried about with climate change is not only the effects it can have on sea levels and global inequality but its effects on all culture. So much historically has been based on our relationship to Earth. That’s something we often forget in our globalized world. Amy: What's next for you? Andres: Right now I’m focused on a series tentatively called “Open Climate Research.” I'm really leaning into interactive possibilities because that has proven most resonant with viewers. One of the things I hope to accomplish with the project—and this is something much more educational than what I’ve done in the past—is to allow viewers to interact and play with raw climate data. I’m excited to see how strongly I can merge climate research with art. Andres Chang is an artist whose work probes the ever-present negotiation between humans and natural systems. He employs numerical computation, drawing, construction, sound design, and performance to produce work from an interdisciplinary perspective. Climate change is a common thread throughout his work, and Andres alternately designs projects that respond intimately to environmental conditions and as speculative replacements for a dying planet. Photo: From Chang's exhibition/performance project "the eternal ocean." Credit: Cole Moore February's "Burning Worlds" Column Author Jeff VanderMeer is having one of the businest months of his life. The Strange Bird, his novella set in the same universe as Borne, hit shelves, and the film adaptation of his novel Annihilation opens in theaters across America. We spoke about both projects -- and his thoughts on climate change -- in this month's "Burning Worlds" cli-fi trends column. Over at Pacific Standard magazine, Jeff warmly and personally endorsed and championed the rising cli-fi genre and cli-fi novelists, telling John Maher in a Q&A there: ''Sometimes you need new fictional modes. You hear the term cli-fi, for example, and I've heard some science fiction writers say, "Well, why do we need that when we have the term 'science fiction'?" Well, because it means climate fiction, and anyone can write climate fiction. It's not necessarily science fiction—it's not necessarily set in the future! And the reason is that it's happening right now. Climate change is happening right now. The future is happening right now.'' Jeff VanderMeer's must-read book list Want more VanderMeer? Check out this list of must-reads he created for Strand Books in NYC. The list features cli-fi, sci-fi, meditative narratives about nature and humans, and some insightful nonfiction about the natural world.

The eco-conscious poetry of Don Marquis Novelist Kathleen Rooney discusses the prescient work of turn-of-the-century poet Don Marquis, who challenged humankind's presumed dominance over the earth. (via The Poetry Foundation) The Climate Museum's first exhibition The Climate Museum in New York City, one of the first museums of its kind in the world [which does not yet exist as a physical museum in a real building and won't for many more years]], launched its inaugural art exhibition this month. Read all about it at Hyperallergic. A "fatberg" on display in London All large cities have "fatbergs"-- lumps of fat, grease, and debris caught in sewer pipes. But London has decided to honor theirs with a museum exhibition. Read this funny, disgusting, and disturbing review of the exhibition in The New Yorker. A song to benefit hurricane victims People's Climate Music released a version of The Beatles song "Here Comes the Sun." It's available for download just about anywhere you get your digital music. Proceeds go to relief efforts for people affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.  Want to write cli-fi? The Imagination and Climate Futures Initiative at Arizona State University is hosting a cli-fi short story  writing contest. The winner will receive a US$1K prize. Deadline is February 28. The judge is KSR. If you submit, tell us all about your entry on Twitter using the hashtag #burningworlds! YOU'RE INVITED On April 11, April 19, and May 9, I'll be moderating a conversation series at the New York Society Library called Art and Activism in the Anthropocene.The event is co-sponsored by Guernica magazine. Tickets are free but reservations are required. Reserve your seat today to hear some of the most important voices in climate art and activism! Panelists include Jeff VanderMeer, William T. Vollman, Helen Phillips, Amitav Ghosh, Zaria Forman, and others. ART OPENINGS, READINGS, AND OTHER EVENTS* [An Off Off  Broadway 'cli-fi' stage play 'Extreme Whether' is set for March 1-18 run in Manhattan at La MaMa Theater. http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/broadway-cli-fi-stage-play-extreme-whether-set-for-march-1-18-run-in-manhattan/ .] Ethics, Excess, Extinction, an art exhibition featuring Nick Brandt, Antonio Briceño, Rohan Chhabra, Ryder Cooley, Billie Lynn Grace, Gale Hart, Andrea Hasler, Chris Jordan, Kahn & Selesnick, Karen Knorr, Kiki Smith, Karolina Sobecka, Esther Traugot, and Jessica Harrison. El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso, Texas. January 26 - May 13 Climate, Capitalism, and Crisis, a discussion with author Kim Stanley Robinson & theatre artist Julia Levine. Housing Works Bookstore, New York City. March 23, 7pm–8:30pm On the Edge: From Combahee to Winyah, an exhibition featuring photography by J. Henry Fair that highlights the current and future consequences of expansion on the South Carolina shoreline. The City Gallery, Charleston, South Carolina. January 20 - March 4 *Want your event listed? Send links to Amy at amybradywrites@gmail.com ABOUT THE EDITOR: Amy Brady is the deputy publisher of Guernica magazine and the senior editor of the Chicago Review of Books, where she writes a monthly ''cli-fi trends'' column called “Burning Worlds.” It’s dedicated to exploring how contemporary fiction addresses issues of climate change. This newsletter expands that project by looking at the work of artists in all mediums. Amy’s writing on literature, culture, and the environment can be found or is forthcoming in The Village Voice, the Los Angeles Times, Pacific Standard, The Dallas Morning News, McSweeney’s, Literary Hub, and elsewhere. To learn more about Amy’s work, visit her website: AmyBradyWrites.com. ------------------------------------------------- This newsletter may be duplicated and forwarded as long as it remains unaltered and is replicated in its entirety.  ------------------------------------------------- Information contained in “Burning Worlds” is collected from many sources and is researched to the best of the editor's ability. Readers should verify information. ------------------------------------------------- "Burning Worlds" logo designed by Cheryl Burke (www.TheoryOneDesign.com).

A 'cli-fi' stage play 'Extreme Whether' written and directed by veteran playwright Karen Malpede is set for a March 1-18 run in Manhattan.

See the show's colorful poster here.

Yes, a 'cli-fi' stage play 'Extreme Whether' written and directed by veteran playwright Karen Malpede is set for March 1-18 run in Manhattan.

If you live anywhere near New York City, like in New Jersey or Connecticut or Pennsylvania -- or Boston or Washington or Chicago for that matter -- make a beeline for the La MaMa theater to see this timely show.

Heralded as “brilliant” and “important” in performances in French and English in Paris several years ago, ''Extreme Whether'' has been performed at live reading and theater workshops as well, and it's new show in Manhattan is sure to attract a new generation of theater-goers.
In addition, since the subject matter is so timely, in this Age of Trump, expect drama critics from the New York Times, the New York Post, The Village Voice, the Nation, The Washington Post, the Associated Press and Reuters, not to mention U.S.-based reporters for the BBC and the UK Guardian to catch this topical show.
It's cli-fi, and as you know by now, cli-fi comes in an assorted of colors: novels, movies, stage plays, poems, paintings, performance art and song lyrics. With "Extreme Whether," Karen Malpede has put her stamp on the rising genre of cli-fi, and this will be a show you won't want to miss.
Sp in this new genre of cli-fi (climate fiction), "Exteme Whether" -- not ''weather'' but ''whether'' please note -- is a fierce expose of politically motivated censorship and a look at the courage it takes to keep up the fight for truth against immensely powerful forces.
It is, also, equally, a love story: of people for nature, a girl for a deformed frog, two embattled climate scientists for truth and one another, and an old man,''Uncle,'' for the world he is about to leave. Inspired by crusading climate scientist, James Hansen, and Arctic ice scientist Jennifer Francis, and praised by both.
''Extreme Whether'' asks how can we act to save ourselves from catastrophic climate change, and what are the nefarious forces acting against our survival?
Starring Rocco Sisto, Clea Straus Rivera, Khris Lewin, Dee Pelletier, Emma Rose Kraus and George Bartenieff.

Theater Three Collaborative is a social justice internationally touring theater company.

To buy tickets and for more information, see this link:

For more on what cli-fi is, see The Cli-Fi Report here.

Founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart in a tiny basement on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, La MaMa is dedicated to the artist and all aspects of the theatre. La MaMa has a worldwide reputation for supporting fearless and provocative theater while helping artists gain a foothold in New York. La MaMa is a global organization with creative partners and dedicated audiences around the world.

Swedish 'cli-fi': Mats Soderlunds 'Attlingarna Hotet' -- Troll styr varlden och bar skuld far svar vattenbrist

''Overmnnskliga varelser ligger bakom andra varldskriget. Aven vana lasare har svart att hanga med i forsta delen av Mats Soderlunds dystopiska fantasitrilogi. Men med mer karlek och redigering hade den har berattelsen kunnat bli nagot riktigt stort, skriver reporter Sebastian Lonnlov.''

Yes, that's newspaper headline in Sweden, above, and that's the first paragraph by Swedish literary critic Sebastian Lonnlov in the introduction. Like other countries in Europe, from France to Italy and Germany and Norway and Spain, cli-fi novels are being published in their native languages, and using The Cli-Fi Report in Taiwan as their literary headquarters. The Report now comes with translation buttons in ten languages, including Chinese and Japanese.
The story? Jenny is eleven years old when her father goes missing. They are attacked by a group of armed strangers during a mountain hike. Jenny is taken captive but manages to escape, while her father vanishes without a trace. Several years later Jenny and her siblings find out what really happened on the mountain and who the strangers really were. But that is just the beginning.
"The Threat" the first part in a trilogy set in an imminent future where climate disasters have become part of everyday life and where the lack of water leads to war. Sweden and Finland are the new, water-owning superpowers and migrant workers from mainland Europe travel to the north. The digital flux is constantly present and every little action or event is registered and logged. Yet there is an ancient secret hidden among all of this: a secret that may threaten the entire humanity. And not only the human race.
As you can see, Sweden has been getting into the cli-fi act as well, as Mats Soderlunds' new novel "Hotet" (The Threat) shows. Published in January, it is now reaching readers nationwide in Sweden and other Nordic countries.
A photo of the novel's cover can be seen here.
Another Swedish novelist to watch is Jesper Weithz, whose cli-fi novel "What's Not Growing Is Dying" was published in Swedish a few years ago and is now being readied for an English-language translation edition as well.
The Swedish title is "Det som inte vaxer ar doende."

In a recent Q&A interview with the Cli-Fi Report, Mr Weithz explained how he first heard about the cli-fi genre and what his own climate fiction novel is all about.
His novel could be said to be an existential cli-fi thriller set against the backdrop of modern life, and while it's a cli-fi novel to be sure, climate change, man-made global warming -- and their potential disasters -- hover at the edge to the story but are never ''center stage'' or the main ''focus'' of the novel. It's a powerful family drama, written with Weithz's minimalist aesthetic and searing prose. It would make a very good translation for readers in the UK, the USA, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and for anyone else who wants to read the book in English. In addition, translations into German, French, Italian, Norwegian, Finnish, Chinese and Japanese would also find an audience of cli fi genre readers in those countries -- Portuguese for Brazil, too, since part of the novel takes place in Sao Paolo. You could say that Weithz's novel would give readers in any country a sense that we in the modern world are standing on an ice flow and hearing the first crackling sounds of disintegration. It's that powerful of  a novel.

Using Storytelling to Change Systems -- a primer for cli-fi novelists and film producers worldwide, by cli-fi communicator Ella Saltmarche

We need to develop new processes of collective cli-fi storytelling across sectors to navigate turbulent times and foster systems change re climate change and global warming, she says. RE: how storytelling can move the cli-fi discussion foward globally....

Highlighting the fault lines and how cli-fi novels can move the discussion forward:

see the Cli-Fi Report at www.cli-fi.net 

“So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war.”

— Abe Lincoln to Harriet Beecher Stowe

When Uncle Tom’s Cabin was first published in 1854, it outsold that year’s Bible sales. Printing presses stayed open 24 hours a day to keep up with public demand for the book that is often called “the first bestseller.” Written by abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe, its emotional portrayal of the cruelty of slavery in the United States roused abolitionist support in the North and galvanized the South to fiercely defend it, leading to Lincoln’s legendary (if unverified) comment in the midst of the Civil War. While the book’s treatment of race has since come under fire, its systemic significance is incontrovertible.

Let me illustrate the role of story in changing a system. Stories make, prop up, and bring down systems. Stories shape how we understand the world, our place in it, and our ability to change it.

Humans have always used stories to make sense out of our chaotic world. When our ancestors had to kill animals they felt were kindred spirits to survive, they created myths to help them come to terms with it. When they invented agriculture, they created myths that glorified graft and highlighted the seasonal nature of existence. When they began to settle, humans created myths imbuing cities with transcendence. As Yuval Noah Harari describes in his book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, story went on to play a vital role in building all subsequent civilizations.

Fast-forward to the volatile times we live in today, where people increasingly recognize that tackling problems like climate change, inequality, and health care requires a systems approach. The work of systems change involves seeing systemically—looking at the elements, interconnections, and wider purposes of systems—and acting systemically. Story plays a vital role in helping us do both of these things.

Story has many different qualities that make it useful for the work of systems change. It’s a direct route to our emotions, and therefore important to decision-making. It creates meaning out of patterns. It coheres communities. It engenders empathy across difference. It enables the possible to feel probable in ways our rational minds can’t comprehend. When it comes to changing the values, mindsets, rules, and goals of a system, story is foundational.