An *enormous* thank you to Camille T. Dungy for joining me to talk about her glorious book SOIL: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden. This extraordinary book is part memoir, part manual, part racial and cultural and environmental history, part poetry — which makes sense, because Camille is a poet!

SOIL tells the story of Camille and her family’s move to Fort Collins, Colorado, and how they came to plant a wild and diverse garden imbued with meaning, purpose, beauty — a literal labor of love — in defiance of strict Homeowners Association rules which promoted the homogeneous use of land. Like our conversation, this brilliant book reflects on plants, yes, but also family, community, race, place, and legacy.

As Camille teaches us, humans and plants are similarly adaptive, problematic, resourceful, and beautiful. I urge you to hear her recommendation that every politically engaged person should have some kind of “garden” — whether an outdoor plot or herbs on a fire escape or a houseplant — and why it’s so important to surround ourselves with the lessons and celebration that a project like hers brings. I also very much appreciate Camille’s honesty about what it takes for women, and especially mothers, to cobble together enough time for creative pursuits.

Camille, thank you for being such a deeply thoughtful and generous writer and guest!