VIDEO: Deena Metzger's Literary Reading 3-16-2025
An afternoon of wisdom and stunning prose
Dear Friends,
In the midst of the unending upheaval of these times, I’m happy to share the video of Deena Metzger’s reading on March 16, 2025, from her novels What Dinah Thought and La Vieja: A Journal of Fire.
It was truly an extraordinary afternoon. In my living room that evening, I told Deena that I thought it was the best reading I’d ever seen her do. She nodded, and quietly said she thought so as well.
Some comments from the audience:
“What an amazing event! Deena was full of thoughtful wisdom: poetic, profound, harmonious. Just the right note for the time. Really mesmerizing!” —Kat Brown, author, Bewilderness
“This exquisite reading is a deep journey into our current times on multiple levels, and into how we got here, a beautiful expression of how we are formed by an overarching social logic, and how we form that logic with our lives, our choices, our necessities. It is about love in the grandest sense, and about seeing, with courage, compassion, and endurance.” — Stan Rushworth, Faculty Emeritus, Native American Studies, and author
“I found the reading to be quite stunning. Deena’s description in What Dinah Thought of letting go of millennia of suffering was visceral and mesmerizing. In La Vieja, her description of the encounter with the bear was equally mesmerizing. In one book, she transcended the boundaries between ancient human enemies, in the other, the boundaries between species. In both cases the experience was profoundly unifying and liberating.” —Bonnie Gordon, writer and psychoanalyst
“I was mesmerized by every word, and my attention didn’t wander for a moment. Deena’s presence and the deep wisdom she shared reached my mind, my heart, and my soul. This reading was the embodied grounding I needed during these very unsettling times.” — Marilyn DuHamel, author, Earth Dialogues blog
I want to thank videographer Maitreya Maziarz, who did a wonderful job. Also the amazing staff at the Resource Center for Nonviolence. And deep gratitude to the circle of remarkable women who helped make this event happen.
Please share this video widely with those who would be interested.
In solidarity and peace,
Carolyn