From the earliest issues of the magazine, Resurgence has made space for poetry as a way of listening to the living world, to human experience, and to the quiet truths that sit beneath mainstream headlines.

As we mark 60 years of Resurgence, we’re returning to the archive to spend time with poems that have stayed with us. These pieces continue to speak across decades to the conditions of their time and to our own.

Progression

by Peter Bradford, Vol. 2 No. 5, January/February 1969



This poem exposes the tragic irony at the heart of 'progress': that in trying to possess, protect and dominate, humanity steadily impoverishes itself.

In its final lines, the poem confronts us with the ultimate cost of this trajectory — a future in which nothing is left to remember.

Resurgence archive – 1970s

Three poems

by Thomas Land, Tony Curtis & P.W.

Vol. 5 No. 2, May/June 1974

These three poems reflect on freedom as

a natural state, and on the forces that constrain it.

From lightness and movement to violence and waiting,

they echo a central Resurgence concern:

that when life is controlled rather than cared for,

both Nature and the human spirit suffer.

Resurgence archive – 1980s

The Gardener

by Rabindranath Tagore, Issue 93, July/August 1982

'The Gardener' is a meditation on the poet’s responsibility

to remain present to life.

As age and mortality call him towards withdrawal, the poet chooses instead to stay with the living world — to listen, to witness, and to give voice to love, longing and human need.

60 years of Resurgence

“What impressed me from the start — and still does — is the way the magazine resists the dichotomies of art and science, idealism and realism. It’s a place where these things meet and infuse. That’s more than just important. It’s essential.”

— Craig Jordan-Baker

Since 1966, Resurgence has been a meeting place for ideas that nourish both head and heart. Visionary editors, thinkers, artists and readers have shaped a movement rooted in compassion, community and care for the Earth.

As we enter our 60th anniversary year, we honour the legacy that has brought us here — and we warmly invite you to become part of what comes next.

Use code E26 to receive £6 off a print membership.

Resurgence archive – 1990s

Real Work

by Gordon Meade, Issue 154, September/October 1992

'Real Work' reflects on the value of work that is grounded, necessary, and embodied. Setting physical labour alongside writing and thought, the poem questions cultural hierarchies that separate mind from hand and suggests that tending

the soil and tending ideas are both forms of care, each

essential to a meaningful, rooted life.

Resurgence archive – 2000s

The Ground that Seeks Love

by Paul Matthews, Issue 213, July/August 2002

This two-poem selection reflects on attention, presence, and the meaning held within everyday acts.

Drawing on art, memory, and the mundane, the poems show how meaning arises when we truly attend to what is

before us — a jug, a gesture, a moment of work — rather than standing apart as detached observers.

Resurgence archive – 2010s

The Uses of the Globe

by David Broadbridge, Issue 284, May/June 2014

Seen from space, the Earth is both fragile and alive: the melting ice, rising seas and changing weather remind us that we are not owners, but guests.

The poem invites us to attention, care and shared responsibility, showing that survival and joy come from tending the world as our true dwelling place.

Resurgence archive – 2020s

Polyphony

Edited by Rachel Marsh and Briony Hughes

Issue 343, March/April 2024

Spanning generations, here is a celebration of women’s voices speaking in relation to the living Earth — distinct

in tone and form, yet bound by a shared refusal of separation between self, body and landscape.

Like birdsong in early spring, these poems create a

layered soundscape in which each female voice is essential

to the whole.

Upcoming Resurgence events

Andigwa World Dance fitness class online

Wednesday 14 January to Wednesday 11 February

6.30—7.30pm GMT • via Zoom

Discover a happier, fitter you with Rebecca’s warm and welcoming weekly dance classes! Move to fabulous music with easy, low-impact steps inspired by African dance, samba, salsa, Bollywood, pop, and more. Enjoy a fun mix of salsa, world dance moves and Afrobics.

Rebecca will introduce us to Gule Wamkulu — also known as ‘The Great Dance’ — performed by the Nyau, a secret society of the Chewa tribe of Malawi. This is a masked dance representing the spirits of the ancestors.

Meditations with the five senses

Fridays throughout January • 8—8.30am GMT

online, via Zoom

This series of guided meditations with Rowena is a perfect opportunity to engage with all aspects of our five senses

in a new way.

Calmly go within, connect with a different sense each week in January, and enjoy a time of relaxation and inspiration. Applying mindfulness to each will allow us to hone these natural skills in the most delightful, relaxing way.

A link to previous meditations in this series will be included in your order confirmation when you sign up for

these meditations.

Resurgence Talk: Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim – ‘Living Earth Community’

Wednesday 28 January • 7.30—8.30pm GMT • via Zoom

The Living Earth Community is a digital project in the lineage of the Journey of the Universe that draws inspiration from Thomas Berry’s vision of the Great Work of our times to renew our sense of place in the dynamic life systems of our planet.

Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim co-direct the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology. They edited all of Thomas Berry's books and co-wrote Thomas Berry: A Biography.

Other written works by them include Ecology and Religion and the Routledge Handbook of Religion and Ecology (eds).

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