Interview with Joe Davis, Author of “Unearthing Us: Poems and Practices for Discovering Our Fullest Selves”
Photo by Greenforce Staffing on Unsplash
Church Anew is delighted to continue a series that celebrates the books and contributions of leaders in our community. While we can’t share every book or article or milestone, feel free to nominate someone or some piece that you know by contacting our blog editor Emmy Kegler at emmy@churchanew.org.
Tell us about Unearthing Us.
In my newest book, Unearthing Us: Poems and Practices for Discovering Our Fullest Selves, I write about digging deep beneath the heaviness of anxiety, depression, and systemic oppression to unearth the truth and beauty at our core.
Traveling across my ancestral homeland of Jamaica and experiencing the vibrant culture, food, and music there made me feel alive like never before! Then, on returning from my trip, I discovered that I could still access that rich sense of self when I allowed myself to stay rooted and grounded in the present moment.
Within each of us there’s a wellspring of well-being. Each poem and practice was intentionally designed with the purpose of helping us remember, reclaim, and reconnect with the truest, fullest, and deepest parts of ourselves.
“I don’t want to give you flowers. I want to grow you a garden.”
Why did you write this book?
In a world that often pulls us to move at a speed that is unsustainable and wreaks havoc on our bodies and spirits, this book is an invitation to slow down. While tracing my ancestral roots in Maroon Town, Jamaica, I befriended a groundskeeper who taught me how to work with the land on a pineapple farm. I learned that we can’t plant the seed and eat the fruit the same day – we’ve got to cultivate the soil. In this collection, I gently lean into the patience and grace necessary to cultivate the soils of the soul.
This is a practice I have to recommit to every day – and it’s a practice most transformative in community. It’s a practice of digging beyond the weight of our wounds to reclaim the best of ourselves. I want to invite my readers: will you dig with me?
You end your book with these wonderful words: “I don't want to give you flowers. I want to grow you a garden”. Please say more.
Flowers, while often a kindhearted gift, eventually wilt and wither when uprooted. I would much rather offer something alive and growing, something we can cultivate together. That's the garden I keep referencing throughout the book. I don't want a love that shrinks and shrivels; I want a love that leads to legacy, a love that blossoms and blooms until we are all flourishing because of it.
Your book also has an accompanying Facilitator Guide with 21 sessions for small group discussion (thanks to Rev. Jia Starr Brown). How do you see this guide working with your book?
The poems and practices I wrote are meant to be experienced in community; the workbook offers ways to engage with the collection in that kind of community. Jia offers ways to bring the full embodiment and integration of healing wisdom into everyday life. The workbook is wide-reaching: it can be used with youth groups, Bible study or book groups, even intentional retreats.
What do you hope your readers take away from Unearthing Us?
While the seeds for Unearthing Us were planted by my homeland travels, the growth and fruits of that work go far beyond a specific place or person. This book is for anyone ready and willing to dig deeper into their personal and communal stories to unearth the healing wisdom that waits for us all. My hope is that — regardless of our circumstances or environment — we can continue to cultivate a deeper sense of communal healing and collective liberation.
This book is for us – all of us who are committed to the joyful work of healing and wholeness. Here’s to our well-being. Here’s to our flourishing. Here’s to our abundance!
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Unearthing Us: Poems and Practices for Discovering Our Fullest Selves by Joe Davis and its accompanying Unearthing Us Facilitator Guide: 21 Sessions Based on the Poetry of Joe Davis by Jia Starr Brown, are both available from Augsburg Fortress Publishers.
Rev. Eric Shafer
The Rev. Eric C. Shafer is a regular contributor to Church Anew and serves as “Pastor in Residence” for Global Refuge - www.globalrefuge.org - which is now in its 85th year serving immigrants and refugees. He has served ELCA congregations in Pennsylvania and California and was the ELCA’s Communication Director, a synod bishop’s assistant, and an interfaith communication executive. He and his wife, Kris, live at Pilgrim Place in Claremont, California.
