by Richard Simpson (pseudonym), 6th September 2012

“… The beauty of modern Man is not in the persons but in the
Disastrous rhythm, the heavy and mobile masses, the dance of the
Dream-led masses down the dark mountain.”
Robinson Jeffers, 1935

The Uncivilised festival is now in its third iteration and it is a curious beast. I went there for the first time a few weeks back because I was curious.

Back in 2009 a number of writers, artists, thinkers and activists joined forces under the Dark Mountain banner. Though happily ambiguous, the group seemed to share a desire to move beyond
the stories our society tells itself; beyond stories like the possibility of endless and infinite economic growth for evermore. Using pen and paintbrush, they would bravely face up to the realities of the coming climate crises and resource shortages. They would cock a snook at the focus of mainstream environmentalism on scientific rigour and rationality, ending the neglect of the spiritual and emotional. The Uncivilised festival is an annual showcase for the poetry, music, art and writings arising from this ambitious work in progress.

As an example of what’s on offer, one workshop stood out for me as being particularly interesting and very much what I hoped to find at the festival. Starting in small groups, we began by identifying characters and images associated with a big historical theme like the Black Death or the industrial revolution. One group got so carried away with it they had very well developed characters for their Black Death story; like a snake oil salesman, accompanied by a healthy looking sidekick, travelling from village to village offering to sell the miracle ointment that had saved his accomplice from the plague. In the second half of the workshop we were flung 200 years into the future and were to cast ourselves as authors in the same mould as Ursula Le Guin, writing a history of our present. Despite time limitations cutting the event short, groups began to develop the outlines of some possible stories about our near future. These could be bleak, describing a time of resource shortages and collapse. But also optimistic, looking to the now as the time when humanity finally grew up and got its collective act together.

On the other side of the coin, some events were managed really badly. One intriguing workshop promised the opportunity to discuss some very urgent and difficult questions. Questions like “how should we act in an era of failed leadership, as exemplified by the farce of Rio+20 and its ‘sustained growth’ agenda? Given accelerating climate change and ecocide, how do we process our own feelings of anger and despair?” The initial group session elicited a huge range of topics that participants would have liked to discuss. However, what could then have been a chance to meet with the like-minded – or similarly confused – then stalled. Remaining in one large group of around 80 people there was no chance for real dialogue. When questioned about the strange format of the session the facilitators proved to be inflexible and even humiliated participants who couldn’t stick to their approach.
Furthermore the facilitators’ attempts to steer the discussion towards talking about the circumstances when campaigners might consider becoming violent were, I think, bizarre and completely out of place. Sadly, though the session embraced many important issues, the surface of those issues was barely scratched.

Uncivilised is clearly a small festival with a big agenda. With such lofty ambitions does it live up to its promise? I think, for the most part, yes. Back in 2009 Dark Mountain looked like an overly masculine intellectual enterprise. Whilst this may have been true once, I reckon much less so now. Like any new movement, it is learning as it goes along. I was also sceptical about the Dark Mountain idea because their Manifesto could be perceived as surrendering to the inevitability of an out of control climate, sounding defeatist. It definitely wasn’t.

With a different focus each year, Uncivilised 2012 was loosely  themed around the idea of what it means to be wild. In this vein the stories of former road protesters going wild in the woods were profound and moving. The music was great, the food was (mostly) great, many of the workshops were great and all in great company. Over the course of the weekend I’m grateful to have learnt some things about myself and my fellow humans that are too damn personal to be shared here!

Uncivilised is a pretty unique experience offering new perspectives on climate change, peak oil and all. I’ve done my best to describe it without launching into a 5000 word essay but it’s hard to explain.
So I suggest checking out their website – http://www.darkmountain.net – and keeping an open mind for Uncivilised 2013.