Editorial - Symbiosis

“We humans need to do better with our vast minds and alchemical powers. Future radi[c]al poetries might be more symbiotic with the rest of consciousness.”

- Anne Waldman, American poet and author

Hello Dear Reader, and welcome to Issue 13 of Consilience.

This issue is devoted to exploring the theme of symbiosis.

From Canada, Australia, Austria, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the poets of our 13th issue come to us from a variety of backgrounds including music, research, education, chemistry, environmental history, cardiology, and dietary science. Their careful poetic considerations of symbiosis will invite you to parse the chemical complexities of the human olfactory system, grant you a vivid glimpse deep beneath the ocean floor, and allow you to spy on the verdant den of the Arctic fox. The common strands among the poetry of this issue speak to the harmonious partnerships found in nature, and in these symbiotic unions we see learning opportunities for how to better engage with one another and our environment in familiar accord with the precepts of mutualism and reciprocity.

Lichen

The verse found in ‘Sunburst Lichen’ by Valerie Sopher and ‘Like Lichen I am Made by Love’ by Dick Westheimer, accentuates the intimate love story between fungi and algae (or another photobiont, cyanobacteria), called lichen. In lichen, fungi and photobionts engage in a mutualistic relationship so close and physically intertwined that they were once thought to be a single entity. With their well-honed partnership, algae and fungi can survive together in some of Earth’s most extreme cold and dry environments. The potential in human partnerships is no less impressive, and the extremes—mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical—we are capable of overcoming together are nearly boundless if we can be so wise and brave as to depend upon our interdependence.

The Gut Biome

‘Two intimate kilos’ by John Bennett and ‘Gut Reaction’ by Heather Martin speak to the mutually beneficial relationship between humans and the vast array of flora that call our gut home. We are still in the early stages of understanding the minutiae of the human biome. The human body hosts a conglomeration of 39 trillion microbial cells, and we do know that the indiscriminate eradication of the bacteria, viruses, and fungi in, on, and around us does not serve our own best interests, despite legitimate fear of disease-causing pathogens. This vast microscopic amalgam of human homeostasis friend and foe is navigable only with the knowledge afforded to us by science, in its broadest definition, and the equitable, accessible, and sustainable dissemination of that knowledge. Just as organisms evolve and adapt together, so must we be flexible in the evolution of what we call knowledge and how we engage with it.

As ever, we offer heartfelt gratitude for the mindful work of our poets, artists, reviewers, and editors. We of the Consilience Team endeavour in the spirit of creative and intellectual mutualism with our contributors, gaining much through our collaborative engagement together. As we continue to nurture a platform that celebrates the liminal intersections between the humanities and the sciences, we invite you to join us as we grow in understanding between disciplines and between people.

The Consilience Team

Postscript: As the symbiotic relationship between humans and AI continues to develop, Consilience strives to be transparent about the use of AI in the literary and artistic work that we showcase. We ask that submissions for which AI was used to identify as such.