Just Utopias Blog

From lemon balm tea in a Martian house to lemon verbena in the woods

Sheryl M. MedlicottLeave a comment
Exterior shot of the Martian house in situ in Bristol, UK, September 2022
The Martian House in Bristol, UK, September 2022

Sometimes you don’t know how you feel about something until the morning after. Yesterday I visited a prototype Martian house, learnt about growing plants hydroponically and participated in a ‘plant-bathing’ meditation and tea ceremony. We picked lemon balm leaves from the indoor garden to make our tea.

Over tea, we talked about how extraordinary growing plants would be for the wellbeing of anyone living on Mars.

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The Word for World is Forest symposium

Sheryl M. Medlicott1 Comment

This morning brought news I have had a proposal accepted to present at an online symposium dedicated to Ursula K. Le Guin’s novella The Word for World is Forest.

The symposium is being organised by The Anarres Project for Alternative Futures on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the publication of Forest.

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Three quick-fire utopian book recommendations

Sheryl M. MedlicottLeave a comment

I wore my Just Utopias badge to a school event recently and it proved a conversation starter. On the spot, I was asked for utopian book recommendations. I can’t believe I didn’t have an answer prepared for this scenario, but there you go.

So, what would I recommend to someone completely new to the genre? Where is the ideal starting point for utopia?

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Badges badges badges badges

Sheryl M. Medlicott1 Comment
I’ve spent a fun evening designing and making badges to take with me to the Utopian Studies Society of Europe conference in Brighton in just over a week’s time.

I’m planning on handing them out willy-nilly at the conference. If, however, you’re a subscriber to the blog and you won’t be there, email me your address and I’ll post one to you. Don’t forget to tell me your colour preference!

Just Utopias badges in white, green, pink and yellow

Brighton build up – two weeks til the Utopian Studies conference!

Sheryl M. Medlicott1 Comment

The Brighton build up has begun! It should have begun a bit earlier if I’m honest… Two weeks to go and my paper is definitely in progress but not exactly ready as yet…

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Literature and Activism: Octavia Butler, farming and community

Sheryl M. Medlicott1 Comment
The inside of a polytunnel with crops growing at the end of the season.
The inside of a polytunnel with crops growing at the end of the season.
The polytunnel, Long Ashton Growers, October 2021

The People’s Republic of Stokes Croft are putting together their School of Activism programme for April 2022. More news on this to follow! In the meantime, it’s got me thinking about literature and activism.

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& Utopia lecture series: David M. Bell review

Sheryl M. MedlicottLeave a comment
Screenshot of David Bell &Utopia online lecture

David Bell’s &Utopia lecture ‘Utopia: Another End of the World is Possible’, recorded on 28 October 2021, is now available online. The lecture energises despite (or perhaps because of?) a focus on the apocalypse.

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Saved by the saplings: developing a physical eco-utopian practice

Sheryl M. Medlicott1 Comment
Saplings on Toboggan Hill, Long Ashton, Bristol, UK, 18 August 2021
Saplings on Toboggan Hill, Long Ashton, Bristol, UK, 18 August 2021

Studying literature can seem like an indoor sport. As an ecocritic, I can spend days thinking about what it means to be an ecological being while only physically interacting with a desk chair and computer. As a utopian scholar it sometimes feels like I’m trying to work out how society could change to avert climate catastrophe IN MY HEAD. Often, the efforts I make to reach out, like starting a blog for instance, result in more time spent in front of a computer. Recently, I’ve realised that as part of my eco-utopian practice I need to get out of my head.

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Glitter Communism or: How to Party in Utopia

Sheryl M. MedlicottLeave a comment

How about judging utopias by how they party? Utopia scholar and Bristol Utopian Book Collective member Dr Kirsten Harris made this suggestion in our discussion of N. K. Jemisin’s ‘The Ones Who Stay And Fight’, written in response to Ursula K. Le Guin’s ‘The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas’. I think it’s an excellent idea. As a way into a utopia it’s potentially much more insightful and fun than talking educational systems and politics.

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