• Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Feed

Ekostories

Stories on Nature, Culture, and Self

Menu
Search
  • Blog
  • What are Ekostories?
  • Essays
  • About
  • Publications
Close Menu
Discover an Ekostory
Close Contents

Years

  • 2020
  • 2019
  • 2018
  • 2017
  • 2016
  • 2015
  • 2014
  • 2013
  • 2012

Authors

  • Isaac Yuen

Filter by Month

  • December 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • October 2019
  • June 2019
  • March 2019
  • December 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • August 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012

Filter by Categories

  • Art
  • Comics
  • Documentaries
  • Earthsea
  • Entries
  • Featured Ekostories
  • Fiction
  • Links
  • Literature
  • Movies
  • Non-fiction
  • Personal
  • Publication
  • Quotes
  • Reconnect Series
  • Short Stories
  • Site-related
  • Television Shows
  • Video Games

Filter by Tags

Art and environment / Biology / Change / Children / Children's Book / Climate Change / creative nonfiction / Culture / Earthsea / eastern philosophy / Ecology / Education / Ekostories Reconnect / Environment / Environmental Art / Environmentalism / Essay / Ethics / Fantasy / Fiction / Gardening / Hayao Miyazaki / Hope / Imagination / Literature / Love / manga / Nature / nature culture / nature writing / Nausicaä / Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind / Orion (magazine) / Resilience / Science Fiction / Slider / Stories / Storytelling / Studio Ghibli / Sustainability / Taoism / Travel / Ursula K. Le Guin / WPLongform / Writing
  • Tiny Molecules: One Summer, by Iceland

    by Isaac Yuen

    One more piece of news to cap off the year: I’m delighted to have found a home for a new story in the winter issue of Tiny Molecules, an online quarterly literary magazine of small fiction. “One Summer, in Iceland” features the titular island of fire and ice as protagonist, or so it seems: “Yesterday for the first time this spring the rains died...

    December 21, 2020
    Comment 1
    Fiction, Publication, Short Stories
  • Flash Fiction Magazine: Last Light

    by Isaac Yuen

    I have a new piece of flash fiction (stories that are less than 1,000 words) over at Flash Fiction Magazine. “Last Light” uses the concept of lightspeed as a means to convey the time and distance necessary for healing: It’s been a thousand days since the sun died. Our star. My heart. It takes last light eight minutes to kiss the brow of the...

    December 12, 2020
    Comments 0
    Featured Ekostories, Fiction, Publication, Short Stories
  • Hong Kong Cityscape

    Place and Memory: Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities

    by Isaac Yuen

    I’m not sure how to describe Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities. It isn’t traditional fiction on a structural level, having no story arc or a defined ending. Nor is it conventional fantasy, doing away with the worlds it creates almost as soon as it forms them. Even the broadest definitions of historical fiction and magical realism don’t quite fit, as Calvino blends real and imagined details...

    June 21, 2015
    Comments 8
    Literature
  • Wonder Eye

    The Dispossessed: Anarres the Promise Kept

    by Isaac Yuen

    “We have nothing but our freedom. We have nothing to give you but your own freedom. We have no law but the single principle of mutual aid between individuals. We have no government but the single principle of free association. We have no states, no nations, no presidents, no premiers, no chiefs, no generals, no bosses, no bankers, no landlords, no wages, no charity,...

    July 31, 2014
    Comments 5
    Literature
  • The Dispossessed: Urras and Hope Betrayed

    by Isaac Yuen

    “Shevek, a brilliant physicist, decides to take action. He will seek answers, question the unquestionable, and attempt to tear down the walls of hatred that have isolated his planets of anarchists from the rest of the civilized universe… Shevek must make the unprecedented journey to the utopian mother planet, Urras, to challenge the complex structures of life and living, and ignite the fires of...

    July 18, 2014
    Comments 4
    Literature
  • Cloud Atlas Robert Frobisher

    Change, Choice, Connection: Cloud Atlas

    by Isaac Yuen

    “Our lives are not our own. From womb to tomb, we are bound to others, past and present, and by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.” – Sonmi 451 Thus sums up the core premise of Cloud Atlas, one of the more polarizing movies in recent memory and my personal favourite film for 2012. Spanning six stories over five centuries, many...

    October 18, 2013
    Comments 22
    Movies
  • Tao Today Part 1

    Tao Today: A Sage’s Take on Modern Society, Part 2

    by Isaac Yuen

    In response to the predicament of his times, Lao Tzu ruminated on the essence of human nature and asked: What can be done to stop the injustice, violence, and greed that inevitably corrupts the core of civilization? According to Welch, the old sage came to the conclusion that a radical operation must be performed on human nature before these systemic issues could be resolved:...

    April 27, 2013
    Comments 10
    Non-fiction
  • Tao Today Part 1

    Tao Today: A Sage’s Take on Modern Society, Part 1

    by Isaac Yuen

    If you follow Ekostories on a regular basis, you would know that one of my chief influences is author Ursula K. Le Guin. It was through her work that I first became intrigued by Taoism as a philosophy. Growing up in Hong Kong, my first encounters with Daoism came from ancient tales of whiskery old hermits who sought immortality and strangely robed priests who...

    April 18, 2013
    Comments 11
    Non-fiction
  • Brazil Wordle 1

    Escape to Happiness and Insanity: Gilliam’s Brazil

    by Isaac Yuen

    Brazil is a mess of a movie in the best possible way. Terry Gilliam’s creation is wildly original and incredibly chaotic, blending elements of comedy and drama into an unforgettable piece of cinema. Visually extravagant and thematically dense, Brazil rewards observant and repeat viewers with a barrage of imagery and subtext ripe for speculation and analysis. A story with almost too much to say, I...

    February 8, 2013
    Comments 6
    Movies
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender Wordle 3

    Avatar: The Last Airbender – Balance and Moral Courage

    by Isaac Yuen

    It may seem excessive to devote an entire write-up to a single character, but I believe Aang, the chief protagonist of Avatar: The Last Airbender, warrants such an exploration. In an age of brooding, melodramatic, and angst-filled heroes, Aang provides a refreshing counterexample to what it means to be an emotionally intelligent, internally resilient, and ethically principled individual. His role as the outsider to...

    September 20, 2012
    Comments 13
    Television Shows

Ekostories Quote of the Month

"...That mesh of leaves and twigs of fork and froth, minute and endless, with the sky glimpsed only in sudden specks and splinters, perhaps it was only there so that my brother could pass through it with his tomtit’s thread, was embroidered on nothing, like this thread of ink which I have let run on for page after page, swarming with cancellations, corrections, doodles, blots and gaps, bursting at times into clear big berries, coagulating at others into piles of tiny starry seeds, then twisting away, forking off, surrounding buds of phrases with frameworks of leaves and clouds, then interweaving again, and so running on and on and on until it splutters and bursts into a last senseless cluster of words, ideas, dreams, and so ends."

Italo Calvino, Baron in the Trees

Featured Ekostories

Flash Fiction Magazine: Last Light

by Isaac Yuen

I have a new piece of flash fiction (stories that are less than 1,000 words) over at Flash Fiction Magazine. “Last Light” uses the concept of lightspeed as a means to convey the time and distance necessary for healing: It’s been a thousand days since the sun died. Our star. My heart. It takes last light eight minutes to kiss the brow of the hill and home where we once were. Where little feet of twins pattered above our heads. Where the pampas grass in the yard grew tall and nodded in the summer breeze. It takes the morning to pack your belongings into the rental sedan. I’ll call you when I settle in. On that final sunbeam you rode away. In the driveway I stood and watched the light go.” You can read the full story and many others, published daily at Flash Fiction Magazine. Read the Full Story Here Photo credit: Jeremy Bishop

December 12, 2020
Comments 0
Featured Ekostories, Fiction, Publication, Short Stories
Isla San Francisquito

The Willowherb Review: El Lugar de Los Sueños

by Isaac Yuen

I’m pleased to have a new essay out in the latest issue of The Willowherb Review, a publication celebrating nature writing from emerging and established writers of colour: “Why ‘Willowherb’? Chamaenerion angustifolium, commonly known as rosebay willowherb or fireweed, is a plant that thrives on disturbed ground. Its seeds do well when transported to new and difficult terrain, so some—not us—may call it a weed.”  About The Willowherb Review This issue explores the theme of habitation: What does it mean to inhabit a space? El Lugar de Los Sueños strives to weave natural history and personal meditation of one place, La Paz and the surrounding Gulf of California, into a coherent whole, mimicking the holistic stylings of The Log of the Sea of Cortez, the muse text that lies at the heart of the piece (and one I’ve explored before here on Ekostories). I was keen to revisit a location from a few years back, to retrace and revive the words of a beloved work, and also to form a new reality of a space...

August 26, 2020
Comments 2
Featured Ekostories, Non-fiction, Publication
Neutrino

Proxies, Orca: A Literary Journal

by Isaac Yuen

Happy to have a new short story out in a special literary-speculative issue of Orca: A Literary Journal: “We champion language that is erudite, beautiful, and thought-provoking and stories that are engaging and rich in their depth. We are NOT interested in polemics or stories that tell a reader how he/she/they should think. Instead, we appreciate work that is high concept, imaginative, thoughtful, even speculative, and open to possibilities. The world is shades of gray and our written word should reflect that.” – An interview with Orca co-founder Zachary Kellian “Proxies” is a Donald Barthelme-inspired epistolary tale about someone who reluctantly agrees to go on a date with a neutrino, that most elusive and mysterious of elementary particles. An excerpt: “…I think it happened when she brought up Calvino. I had never met anyone who wanted to chat Calvino. I guess when you’re drifting through space and don’t have to worry about bumping into things you have time to mull over invisible cities and people living their entire lives in trees without ever coming...

July 3, 2020
Comment 1
Featured Ekostories, Fiction, Publication, Short Stories
Link and the Forest Temple Jeremy Fenske

Newfound, Journeys to HYRULE_

by Isaac Yuen

Delighted that my latest piece of creative nonfiction titled “Journeys to HYRULE_” has found the perfect home with Newfound, a nonprofit publisher and publication that explores how place shapes, identity, imagination, and understanding: “We believe that a richer experience of place—spaces human-made, natural, conceptual, or otherwise—is requisite in understanding ourselves and our world. Newfound is passionate about positively transforming how we relate to our habitats and bringing about better stewardship of our homes, neighborhoods, communities, cities, nations, and the globalized world at large.” —Why is Newfound important? Inspired by Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities and Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda videogame series (both of which I have written about here on Ekostories), “Journeys” is a rumination on the lifelong bonds I’ve forged with a certain virtual world. I was particularly interested in exploring the notion of attachment to a digital realm that is constantly reimagined with each iteration, along with the feeling of returning to a familiar place I have never been: “…This is not my story but I know its shape. I am not...

October 2, 2019
Comments 2
Featured Ekostories, Non-fiction, Publication, Video Games
Arctic Iceberg

On The Edge, Calling Back: An Interview with Barry Lopez

by Isaac Yuen

I had the recent pleasure of reading a great interview with Barry Lopez that I would like to share here on Ekostories. I’ve long admired Lopez’s writing; Arctic Dreams remains one of the most perceptive and spellbinding books I’ve read in recent years. In the interview, Patrick Pittman chats with the celebrated author on “ethics, hope, death, and the importance of good people in times that are not.” Lopez comes across as someone who has lived life deeply and reflected upon it a great deal, especially in the last stages of his life, but what I find equally interesting are Pittman’s probing questions on nature, writing, and legacy. I’ve included a few of them below: On the responsibility that comes with naming: “You write about places that are relatively untouched by the human hand. Of course, nothing’s untouched, but there’s an idea of land being at least unspoiled. In capturing these places, you make them a known place. There’s a danger in that; there’s got to be some sort of care and obligation when you write about these spaces.” On the...

November 1, 2017
Comment 1
Featured Ekostories, Links
Bold Peak Chugach Mountains Alaska

Nature and Music: The Work of John Luther Adams

by Isaac Yuen

I am probably one of the few who looks forward to my commute. Not because I get on far enough away to grab a seat on the train, or that my mind requires the extra hour of warm up to function properly; both are true, but more important is that the commute allows me to enter the world of radio podcasts. Daily I have time to listen to stories from CBC’s Ideas and Wiretap, and from This American Life and RadioLab. Steeped in narratives of art and science, psychology and philosophy, anthropology and history and everything in between, I find myself constantly awed by the power of voice and ambience to build imagery. I listen and feel inspired. A recent Radiolab episode tuned me into the Pulitzer-winning work of composer John Luther Adams. Excerpted from a longer interview on another program called Meet the Composers, hosts Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich delve into Adams’ compositions – music that is more akin to a primal and elemental force. You can listen to the fascinating half-hour podcast HERE – I’ll...

October 23, 2014
Comments 2
Art, Featured Ekostories

Tags

Art and environment Biology Change Culture Earthsea eastern philosophy Ecology Education Environment Environmental Art Environmentalism Essay Ethics Fantasy Hayao Miyazaki Hope Imagination manga Nature nature culture nature writing Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Resilience Science Fiction Stories Storytelling Sustainability Ursula K. Le Guin WPLongform Writing

Recent Ekostories

Tiny Molecules: One Summer, by IcelandOne more piece of news to cap off the year: I’m delighted to have...December 21, 2020

Flash Fiction Magazine: Last LightI have a new piece of flash fiction (stories that are less than 1,000...December 12, 2020

The Willowherb Review: El Lugar de Los SueñosI’m pleased to have a new essay out in the latest issue of The...August 26, 2020

Proxies, Orca: A Literary JournalHappy to have a new short story out in a special literary-speculative issue of...July 3, 2020

Newfound, Journeys to HYRULE_Delighted that my latest piece of creative nonfiction titled “Journeys to HYRULE_” has found...October 2, 2019

Life Lessons from the Odd and Ancient, The HopperPleased to have a new natural history essay up at The Hopper, an environmental...June 29, 2019

Lammergeier, Journeys to EarthseaThrilled that my newest personal essay has found a home in the debut issue...March 15, 2019

Our Museum of the Future – ShenandoahHumbled and honoured to contribute a short story to the latest issue of Shenandoah Literary...December 7, 2018

Lodestone, Tahoma Lit ReviewExcited to have a flash nonfiction piece published in the latest issue of Tahoma...December 1, 2018

Transience, Juxtaprose MagazineHappy to have a new personal essay up in the summer issue of Juxtaprose,...June 17, 2018

2018 Orion Environmental Writers’ WorkshopLooking forward to attending the Orion Environmental Writers’ Workshop at the Omega Institute in...May 10, 2018

All My Best Words Were HersMy thanks to Entropy Magazine for publishing All My Best Words Were Hers, my...April 5, 2018

Dear Ursula…When I first began writing seriously a few years back, I enrolled in a...January 23, 2018

The Briar Patch, The Sunlight PressHappy to have a short piece published in The Sunlight Press, a literary journal...January 11, 2018

On Pools and Penguins: Zoomorphic’s Brave BirdJust in time to wrap up the year, I’m pleased to announce that my...December 29, 2017

2047: Short Stories from Our Common FutureI‘m honoured to have a piece included in 2047: Short Stories From Our Common...December 11, 2017

On The Edge, Calling Back: An Interview with Barry LopezI had the recent pleasure of reading a great interview with Barry Lopez that I...November 1, 2017

Regarding Lichen, Tin House OnlineHappy to announce that my short story “Regarding Lichen” has been published on Tin...October 14, 2017

Six Degrees of Interconnection, Orion MagazineI’m pleased to have another short essay, “6 Degrees of Interconnection”, published in the...June 19, 2017

What Matters, River Teeth JournalRecently, I had the honour to contribute a short-short to “Beautiful Things”, the online...May 19, 2017

Ekostories and EkphrasisIt’s been more than five years since I started Ekostories. In the About section,...May 16, 2017

Italo Calvino’s Marcovaldo: Seasons in the CityBedridden with the flu on a recent writing retreat, I had resigned myself to...February 1, 2017

Rhythm, Hippocampus MagazineI’m pleased to have a flash piece published in the January issue of Hippocampus,...January 18, 2017

Art, Animal, Essence: The Drawings of Charley HarperI don’t remember exactly when I stopped drawing. I don’t mean the occasional doodles...December 23, 2016

Mind of a Clam: Driftfish, A Marine Life AnthologyIn light of International Remembrance Day for Lost Species, I’m proud to be a...November 30, 2016

Me and Gravity, Orion MagazineUpdate: “Me and Gravity” has been selected as a “Notable” entry in The Best...November 6, 2016

The Cost of Change: Star Trek Deep Space Nine’s Progress“This may be the last time we’re all together. But no matter what the...August 17, 2016

Atlas of Remote Islands: Fifty Islands I Have Never Set Foot On and Never WillThe first place I ever felt at home in was on an island. My...August 5, 2016

Finding Place through Art and Science: The Field Journals of Lyn BaldwinThis piece was featured as an Editor’s Pick on Discover WordPress June 30,2016. I...June 23, 2016

More Than Ferns: Oliver Sacks’ Oaxaca JournalWhen I finished the preface to Oliver Sacks’ Oaxaca Journal and found that the late...May 30, 2016

The Lorax and Literature’s Moral ObligationI recently came across a wonderful piece in The Atlantic exploring some of the...May 10, 2016

Zoomorphic Magazine, A Tapir’s TaleI‘m pleased to announce that Zoomorphic Magazine has published one of my personal essays...April 18, 2016

The Drop That Contained the Sea, by Christopher TinRecently while sorting through my soundtrack collection, I came across an old and beloved...March 24, 2016

Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin – A DocumentaryNot that this needs any promotion from me, as the project seems to be...February 2, 2016

Only Yesterday Comes To North AmericaOne of my favourite films of all time, Isao Takahata’s Only Yesterday, is getting a...January 10, 2016

Do You Understand? A Story from NepalA friend recently introduced me to Humans of New York, a photoblog with an...December 29, 2015

Happy Birthday, Ursula K. Le GuinToday is the 86th birthday of author Ursula K. Le Guin, without whom I would...October 21, 2015

Bearing Witness: The Animal Dialogues by Craig ChildsIt began with pronghorns. Growing up obsessed with creature comparisons, the main allure of...October 13, 2015

Interlude: A Message from Silent Spring“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will...September 24, 2015

Midway: A Message from the GyreThe trailer for Midway: A Message from the Gyre has been out for a few...September 20, 2015

Ekostories is created and curated by Isaac Yuen.

Stories on Nature, Culture, and Self

  • Website Powered by WordPress.com.
Cancel