Internal and External Connections through Listening: Finding Comfort in Pauline Oliveros's "The Earth Worm Also Sings"
In the final days of 2020 I, like many others, was feeling disconnected. Disconnected from my friends, my passions, and even myself. As a part of my research on sound, music, and environmentalism I came across a poem by composer, performer, and sound artist Pauline Oliveros. In her poem "The Earth Worm Also Sings" Oliveros lays out her understanding of the universe as made of and connected through sound: living, dying, and the afterlife are sonic. For Oliveros, all of existence is based in sound and vibration. “The Earth Worm Also Sings” is a 165-line stream of consciousness poem in three sections: First, Oliveros explores the sonic world of the mind, body, life, and death; Second, Oliveros describes a meditative journey in which she imagines an “alternative self, tiny enough to journey inside” the “acoustic universe” of her own ear; And finally the poem ends with a short coda which repeats material from the first section, bringing the reader full circle. Throughout the work Oliveros explores the sonic nature of the universe, a universe that is made of and connected through sound. In her holistic worldview, mind and body are connected to the cosmos through sound and vibration, and it is Deep Listening, a practice of listening to all things at all times, that allows us to access that connection. Through Deep Listening we can be returned to “the source of all beginning,” which is “abundance, fecund creativity, brilliant spark, sounding pulse, life unending.” “The Earth Worm Also Sings” encapsulates the potential depth of Deep Listening, a practice which goes beyond mere “listening” and ties one to the very essence of the universe.
In a time when I was feeling disconnected from the things that made me feel like myself, "The Earth Worm Also Sings" helped me to feel grounded while reminding me that I am a part of something larger than I could ever imagine. At the most fundamental level, Oliveros describes herself as a “community of musical cells” each of which “[sing] the song of its musical structure.” Oliveros’s sounding and listening selves function cyclically, regenerating through listening to their own sound. She writes, “I was born here to hear all my cells through my cells.” In "The Earth Worm Also Sings" Oliveros expresses a way for me to sonically connect to myself, both through listening to the sounds of my body and the sounds of my imagination. After I feel grounded in my own mind and body, remembering that my sonic self is a part of a larger sounding and listening cosmos has provided comfort in days of disconnection and isolation. Listening to the world around me, to the sounds of chirping birds, to the slam of car doors on the street, to laughter coming from my neighbors apartment, connects me to my place. Even the sounds I cannot hear—the sounds of Boethius's "musica mundana," the music of the spheres—connect me to a greater whole.
Pauline Oliveros
"The Earth Worm Also Sings"
2020
Taylor McClaskie, Musicologist
internal-external-connections-listening
The world we live in isn't as big as you may think
On Tuesday February 6th of 2018, I watched SpaceX launch Falcon Heavy and successfully land two of its boosters. This launch was inspiring to many people because it was the first rocket launched capable of reaching Mars. The fact that Musk choose to launch his personal Tesla Roadster as a deadweight payload was a truly remarkable sight. The world was shown video footage of an already revolutionary electric car soaring above the atmosphere on a rocket developed by a wildly successful private space company.
However, this was very touching to me for a different reason. The last time the world experienced this level of competition over space exploration was the cold war. This race granted us a variety of technological innovations that helped the quality of life of citizens all over the globe including braces, smoke detectors, freeze dried food, and water purifiers just to name a few. These are great products but it is saddening to know that they were only possible due to a huge conflict between world superpowers where disputes between politicians put millions of innocent lives at risk.
The world we live in is full of conflict and competition. Tensions are high between the citizens of our nation and it is easy to feel like the world is very divided. I want to see a generation that focuses on bringing people together and fighting to improve everybody's quality of life rather than focusing on distances and widening cultural divides.
Seeing a dummy in an electric car soaring through the atmosphere instead of a nuclear warhead hit me with a wave of emotion. The blue sphere in the background was mesmerizing- you cannot see borders, buildings, populations, or the small parts of life we become accustomed to. The only sight is the entirety of our world. Just a small orb containing every human, every home, every life on earth together. Space exploration not only allocated money toward research and science rather than war and hate, but it brings the human race together in a way that nothing else can do.
I truly feel like my life has changed since seeing this. Whether I am driving around or standing in line among strangers I feel more care and respect for those around me. I know that I am a very insignificant part of our entire world and I feel more connected to those around me rather than living life looking for differences. Some may argue that we should focus on problems here on Earth but I think that space exploration brings us the innovations we did not know we needed here in the first place. In addition to that, I have never felt as connected to the rest of the world as I do now after seeing the February 6th launch. I think it is time we focus less on being citizens of our divided nations and put more effort into becoming citizens of this planet we share.
SpaceX
Falcon Heavy launch
February 6th, 2018
George, 21, student
world-isnt-as-big-as-you-think