Spirit of Leadership with Megan Chaskey Megan Chaskey

On this episode of Spirit of Leadership with Megan Chaskey, we dive into the interconnectedness through the worlds of soil and spirit and the magic that can be found in these connections between people, plants and place. Our guest, Scott Chaskey, farmer/poet, speaker and author, discusses his latest book, Soil and Spirit, based on his travels and encounters inspired by his exploration of the unseen below ground and in the spirit of perception and ways of perceiving. We also hear about the origins of the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) movement and how it gained traction in China. The author shares how poetry and mentors have influenced his life and leadership roles. 



Scott Chaskey is a lifelong writer who has built the spirit of community and tilled the soil at Quail Hill Farm for 30 years for the Peconic Land Trust. With a desire to have more time for writing, he decided to “graduate” from the farm and focus on his passion. This led to the creation of Soil and Spirit, a series of interconnected essays, inspired by an epigraph from John Hay that appeared in his previous book, Seedtime: "To what useful end could I use my eyes without acknowledging that they are only one of the earth's inexhaustible ways of seeing?"



Join us for this episode woven with hope, magical connections and the importance of caring for the community.



UPCOMING READINGS BY SCOTT CHASKEY FROM HIS BOOK SOIL & SPRIT:


Scrawl Books, Reston, VA, Wednesday May 24, 7pm
Flying Cloud Bookstore, Easton, MD., Friday May 26, 5pm



TRANSCRIPT

Megan Chaskey [00:00:55]:



Welcome to this episode of Spirit of Leadership, and I am so happy to be speaking with you, Scott, and celebrating the publication of your new book, Soil and Spirit, and I look forward to your sharing with our audience some of the things that led up to your writing this book and in the process of writing this book the aspects that relate to leadership and your leadership in the CSA movement and the influences of those who've inspired you in the writing of this book.



Scott Chaskey [00:01:48]:



Thank you. I'm excited about talking about it.



Megan Chaskey [00:01:52]:



So tell us a little bit more about the conception of the book and how it evolved as you were writing it.



Scott Chaskey [00:02:03]:



Yeah, so I've always been writing. It's a lifelong affair for me, but I wanted to have more time to write. And so the timing just seemed to be right to graduate (your words) from Quail Hill Farm, where I pursued community through soil, tilling the soil, and through building community through the members of the farm for 30 years for the Peconic Land Trust. But I wanted to have more time to write. So that led to this book. Actually, the seeds of it came from the book that I wrote before, which was called Seed time. And there was a particular epigraph that I used in the end of that book and feel that that was the beginning of this book. So Seed time ended with this epigraph from the wonderful writer John Hay. "To what useful end could I use my eyes without acknowledging that they are only one of the earth's inexhaustible ways of seeing?" And so that was really the end of Seed time, but the beginning of Soil and Spirit. And I guess I like S's because the titles all have S's. But I conceived of the book quite differently because it's really a series of interconnected essays and I planned on traveling quite a bit. Various chapters were going to be built on my travels, but along came COVID and so there was no more traveling. So the book turns out to be quite different than the way I'd planned it and the proposal that I submitted originally to Milkweed, the publisher. But maybe it's a better book because of that.



Megan Chaskey [00:03:56]:



In what ways would you say that?



Scott Chaskey [00:03:59]:



I was interviewed not long ago. Someone said it was a journey inward and it had to be because I wasn't traveling outward. But at the same time, instead of actual traveling

I’m a data scientist in the IT world, a mother at home, a philanthropist and a coach by heart, and a self-proclaimed Persian-American artist who contributes her art to the arduous practice of staying present. Persian Calligraphy has been my family heritage and my main tool to share the spirit of art I've been experiencing in conscious presence. There is a space where creation pours and it pours until we grow weary of receiving it. In this space, I express yourself. I am the vehicle for the creator to manifest itself.

In my new project, BeTheDot,BeThePresence, I aim to bring people together to hold a space for leading their way through the art of calligraphy.



https://www.nahiduntold.com

Kathy Engel, poet, has worked for forty years at the nexus between social justice movements and art/imagination. Her books include Ruth’s Skirts, poems and prose, We Begin Here: Poems for Palestine and Lebanon, co- edited with Kamal Boullata, The Kitchen with art by German Perez, and the chapbook, Banish The Tentative. Her newest book, The Lost Brother Alphabet, was published by Get Fresh Books, 2020. Kathy founded with a group of women in 1983, and became the first director of the international women’s human rights group, MADRE. She is also co- founder, producer, and consultant for numerous projects, campaigns, organizations. She works as Associate Arts Professor in the Department of Art & Public Policy, Tisch School of the Arts, NYU. She is a 2020 Pushcart nominee. The mother of two amazing daughters, she lives in Sagaponack, New York, with her partner, the artist educator Jonathan Snow.

www.kathyengelpoet.com

instagram: kellajaja



"The Lost Brother Alphabet" available at:

https://gfbpublishing.org/shop?olsPage=products%2Fthe-lost-brother-alphabet



https://momeggreview.com/2021/04/02/the-lost-brother-alphabet-by-kathy-engel/



https://ghostfishingnyu.info/



To Kneel

https://portside.org/2019-06-28/falling



http://lalela.place/2020/08/11/a-retreat-in-collaborative-poetics/

check out: https://www.livingdictionaryproject.com

check out: https://www.theenclavehabitat.org/

Scott Chaskey, poet/farmer

Formerly the head farmer and director of one of the original

community supported agricultural projects, Quail Hill Farm, for 30 years

with Peconic Land Trust on the East End of Long Island,

Scott has served on several boards of environmental non-profits.

He is the author of several books including

This Common Ground, 4 Seasons on an Organic Farm,

and Seedtime, on the History, Husbandry, Politics and Promise of Seeds,

books that are a celebration as well as a call to action

urging us to renew our role as citizens of nature.

Grace Chang

Creating an essential foundation with potent generative health & wealth solutions for individual & collective transformation.

Coming from over 3 decades of conventional & alternative medicine, Grace is currently merging permanent health & wealth solutions to create a platform for transformation. She shows individuals & businesses how to thrive using potent tools to elevate conscious health & wealth potential. Consultant to coaches, leaders & influencers, she harnesses data from ongoing research to validate efficacy of physical & non-physical modalities.



http://linkedin.com/in/grace-chang-living-solutions-consultant



https://linktr.ee/gracemeiyenfoo

Aylssa Gaustad

practices the Yoga of Immortality, called Sukshma Vyama powered by Naam,

and she is a trainer of teachers and she practices Harmonyum Healing founded by Dr Levry

used to relieve stress and help the body heal from the negative effects of trauma and disease.



Instagram @alyssanaam