QUESTIONS: Dwellings by Linda Hogan

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1. "All my Relations":  In what ways does the sweat lodge heal?

2. "What Holds the Water, What Holds the Light":  Does the predominate language of contemporary American civilization hold water, hold light?  Explain what occurs, according to Hogan, when language ceases to hold the water and the light.

3. "A Different Yield":  Using an example from your own life, discuss Hogan's claim that human language exceeds spoken language.  In doing so, make clear how for Hogan this deeper sense of language would heal our "skewed" relationship with nature.

4. "Creations":  Hogan argues that "the Western belief that God lives apart from earth is one that has taken us toward collective destruction" (pp. 85-86).  Why does Hogan argue this?  Do you agree?  What do stories of creation have to do with this question?

5. "Dwellings":  In the spirit of Hogan's essay, find a dwelling place outside of those of humankind and write a small meditation on what it teaches you.

6. "Walking":  To walk is to be on a path.  What sort of paths does Hogan suggest we walk?  How do these paths affect the very nature of our walking?