Sit down inside W.S. Merwin’s hand-built garden dojo. Immerse yourself in the sounds of his palm forest, deep in the Pe‘ahi Stream valley, on Maui’s rugged and rural north coast.
NOTE: Please make sure your sound is turned on. Click the bottom right corner of the video to enlarge.
Sayler / Morris
Threshold (Meditation Edit for The Merwin Conservancy), 2020
This new edit of Threshold is a meditative video created by artist duo Susannah Sayler and Edward Morris (Sayler / Morris and The Canary Project), in collaboration with The Merwin Conservancy, as an offering of sanctuary in a time of crisis. The filmmakers wish to thank W.S. Merwin and Paula Merwin for generously welcoming them to film at their home in 2016.
Threshold was originally part of a site-specific installation in collaboration with Ian Boyden titled Palm: All Awake in the Darkness that was commissioned by American Writers Museum in Chicago with support from the Poetry Foundation. The video was shot entirely in and around a small room that the poet W.S. Merwin built for meditation. This room sits in the middle of a palm garden that Merwin and his wife Paula grew on a wasteland left by colonial plantations on Maui. Tree-by-tree, they transformed the land into what Merwin called a “garden that aspires to be a forest.” The title of the video is taken from one of Merwin’s poems in which he writes, “what did I have to do with anything I could remember / all I did not know went on beginning around me…”
Concept, direction and editing: Susannah Sayler and Edward Morris (Sayler / Morris)
Sound design: Matthew Patterson Curry and Sayler / Morris
Videography: Sayler / Morris
Additional videography: Lauren Harper
Color correction and additional editing: Andrew Rice
Produced by Sara Tekula for the Merwin Conservancy
Creative Commons License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
“The Sitting Room” has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, BOMB Magazine, among other national media organizations.
Such a beautiful and calming film. I’d love to visit this place. But until then, this film really appears to hold the space of it well. Thank you. Shared.
Thank you, Andō. We hope to host you here some day!
May 2, 2020. Thank you for this sanctuary . . . For 20 minutes, I am here on Maui in this palm forest listening to the birds and the rain and watching the light and shadows dancing on the floor . . . . Appreciate the respite from what’s happening here in the Washington, D.C., area. In gratitude, Meredith Pond
So happy to hear that this was sanctuary for you, Meredith.
I have wanted to visit this amazing palm forest as I’ve been coming to Maui for 3 years for month-long meditation retreats at a sanctuary on equally reclaimed land near Kula. Vipassana Metta Foundation generously developed by Steve Armstrong and Kamala Masters. The deep sense of quiet, place and life in this video piece gave me space in the midst of what is happening. With gratitude, Carolyn
We hope you can visit soon in the future, Carolyn. In the meantime, we’re so happy that this video has brought you space.
My favorite part is that after twenty minutes I was still waiting for total silence. What this has given to me is the vibrant life of a forest. Maybe my song is too silent. Maybe I can add some brighter colors to my life. When meditation is a distraction from meditation…that’s a great 20 min flow. Shh you pesky birds! I’m busy being brighter- thank you poet beyond time for giving this forward.
On a week-end of anti-racist protests – America is ablaze with shock and sorrow. Amidst an unseen global virus. I think William knew we would need this garden to heal us and inspire us to justice and peace. Mahalo Nui Loa
I agree, Nancie, wholeheartedly.
Beautiful, Cin.
Quite beautiful. Luxurious in its calming. I have not been to this particular place but I often visit some same mysterious aspect of it when I sit quietly in my own small backyard retreat.
I plan on watching this video each morning for the remainder of the month of November 2020.
Thank you.
That’s wonderful, Debra. We hope it serves you well!
Your video centered me beyond what I thought was possible in these times. Thank you for sharing this and I dream of visiting your space when all is possible!
Oh, this is so beautiful to hear, Kevin. Thank you for being a part of our work.
Enjoying the vibrant sounds. Thank you for the experience.
Thank you for being a part of the experience! We hope you’ll return again and again.
Thank you for this beauty, this thoughtfulness, this peace. Thank you for being and sharing and inspiring.
And thanks to you, Cristian, for being and sharing and inspiring.
Wow. Found you on the NYT article this morning. We are having a Hawaiian Christmas with song, flavors and meditation from the islands. Thank you!
That is beautiful, Giovanni, and sounds like the perfect holiday.
So beautiful and healing! Thank you!