Upcoming Program: Thursday, November 5, 2026
Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7 p.m.
Tree Obsessions: Celebrating the Ephemeral in Long-Lived Plants
William (Ned) Friedman is the Arnold Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University
In an age of environmental destruction and outright murder of our biological brethren, there is something deeply troubling about humanity’s relationship with the natural world. Technology has left us with mere facsimiles of nature – pixilated abstractions of biodiversity through satellite imagery, decoded strings of DNA – and we have become fundamentally disconnected from actual nature. I will argue that by mindfully engaging in the simple act of observing nature (and obsessing about it) in arboreta, botanical gardens, and our backyards, trees can help us forge a personal and empathic lifelong connection with the “other,” the vast and variant organisms with which we share the planet. As Johann Wolfgang Goethe aptly wrote: “To wander about among a vegetation which is new to one is pleasant and instructive. It is the same with familiar plants as with familiar objects: in the end we cease to think about them at all. What is seeing without thinking?” Indeed, seeing without thinking lies at the very heart of the human-created crisis of global change and extinction, and the disconnect between humans and the millions of other species and countless organisms with whom we share the planet. Can the simple practice of deepening our love of individual trees (that cannot love us back) make us better stewards of Earth’s biodiversity? I think so.
The program is presented by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and co-sponsored by The Trout Gallery and is in conjunction with the Trout Gallery exhibition Branch: Trees in American Art. It is also part of the Clarke Forum’s Leadership in an Age of Uncertainty Series.
Biography (provided by the speaker)
William (Ned) Friedman is the Arnold Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University and the eighth director of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University in its 152-year history. During his sixteen years at the helm of the Arboretum, Friedman has worked to expand the Arboretum’s global impacts through diverse environmental justice initiatives, a keen focus on ex situ conservation, and the promotion of a vast array of scientific scholarship within the living collections. As an evolutionary biologist, Friedman’s scholarly studies have fundamentally altered century-old views of the earliest phases of the evolution of flowering plants, Darwin’s so-called “abominable mystery.” He is also deeply interested in the history of early (pre-Darwinian) evolutionary thought, particularly the largely overlooked contributions of horticulturists and botanists.
Related Links
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/17/realestate/harvard-arnold-arboretum.html
Upcoming Program: Sunday, October 25, 2026
Weiss Center, Rubendall Recital Hall – 4 p.m.
StarWound presents ‘Interiors Project’
The sophisti-pop trio StarWound will perform original songs based on the works of living poets, among them Dickinson’s poet-in-residence, Adrienne Su. Selected Dickinson poetry students will also read their poems, accompanied by the band. Earlier that same day, the trio will conduct a workshop for students on combining music and poetry.
“Interiors” is StarWound’s ongoing exploration of contemporary U.S.-based poetry through music. The project was inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic, when prolonged isolation, lockdowns, and social disruption forced people behind closed doors and intensified anxiety, loneliness, and domestic hardship. This is the fourth edition of the tour.
About the Band
StarWound is a sophisti-pop trio based in Athens, Greece, blending cabaret, EDM, and synth rock. They have released three albums: Miles to Walk (2015), So Wrong (2018), and What Do You See? (2024), with lyrics that combine poetic expression with contemporary philosophical and social themes.
The trio has performed at major festivals including Eurosonic, CLAE, Colora, Culturescapes, Nisville, and Soul Bones, and has toured extensively across Europe and the USA. They have also collaborated with the Greek National Opera, creating Dancing Cloud, dedicated to the memory of dancer Sasha Neskov. StarWound’s music has been broadcast by major radio stations in Greece, the USA, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Belgium, and featured in international and Greek media.
This concert is sponsored by the departments of creative writing, English, and music, the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues, and The Dickinson Review.