We Asked Es Devlin
for Her Book Recommendations
for Her Book Recommendations
London, May 2024
Written by Alex Bäuml
Es Devlin is an English artist and stage designer known for her innovative work in theatre, opera, and concert design. With a career spanning over three decades, she has collaborated with renowned institutions and artists as a masterful and impactful storyteller. She merges light, sound, and kinetic sculptures to create immersive experiences that foster community and connection. Her work emphasizes the transformative power of art, making her a vital Modern Human in making wisdom accessible to all.
Below are Es’s book recommendations with her comments: you are welcome.
World as Lover, World as Self by Joanna Macy
“She was trained in systems theory by the CIA in the 1960s/70s, then she went to Vietnam and trained in Buddhist thought with Thích Nhất Hạnh. She is this extraordinary synthesis of Western Systems theory and Eastern Buddhist theory... She’s 94 years old. I’m desperate to interview her.”
Two books from David Abram:
Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology and The Spell of the Sensous
“They are essential.”
The Earth Transformed by Peter Frankopan
“The book I’m reading right now and I’m evangelical about, even though I’m only on page 80 out of a very long book... He goes through the whole history of humans, looking through the lens of climate at each shift in our civilisation.”
A reminder from Es :
“The first step to shifting attitudes and behaviours is to recognise more the beauty of a human and to recognise the value of a human. I worry that part of the reason we’re in the state we’re in is I think we’ve forgotten that we contain the whole cosmos; I think we’ve forgotten that we’re worthy of anything other than extinction, ultimately. I think we need to remind people how worthy we are, that we deserve to stay unextinct.”
More from Es: