"Insects as a companion species? In Pettman's engaging and beautifully composed bestiary, writing for animals is writing with animals. Telling the Bees is a smart, at times bitterly funny, and persistently a contagious read."-Jussi Parikka, author of Insect Media and Operational Images
Could an ancient tradition replace social media? What if we shared our thoughts with the bees, rather than the hive mind of the Internet?
In a bid to wean himself off Facebook and Twitter, media scholar and cultural theorist Dominic Pettman decided to revive an ancient custom. He decided to tell the local bees of his thoughts, theories, musings, and meditations. The result was an apian journal that parses the daily news and the routines of modern life in a more sustained and reflective way than the Pavlovian posts to which we are so addicted.
The account that emerges from Pettman's regular discussion with the bees forms a compelling portrait of the tumultuous period running from the Fall of 2019 to New Year's Eve, 2022. What began as a reflection on the traumatic effects of an "unprecedented" presidency soon evolved into a real-time response to the equally extraordinary events of the pandemic and its aftermath. Over the course of the "conversation," Pettman comes to recognize how, thanks to the alienating effects of neoliberalism, we were already engaged in an advanced form of social distancing long before anyone had heard of COVID.
Whether contemplating the eclipse of human exceptionalism or the self-fulfilling prophecy that is New York City, Telling the Bees is an invitation to rediscover the art of reflection. It is also a profound meditation on connection, alienation, and our collective yearning for intimacy in an age of distance. Through Pettman's "interspecies monologue," readers are treated to a unique perspective on the complexities of the twenty-first century, inspired by the ingenuity and resilience of our natural cohabitants.
Dominic Pettman is University Professor of Media and New Humanities at the New School.