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It has been a pretty unbelievable trip since first sitting down at my desk in West Philly to write this book. After releasing Seeds of Discent with such integral help and support from my friends and family (most notably Carl Cheeseman, Angela Miles, and Elisa Esposito), and the book finding its way into so many hands, it has inspired me to create The Head & The Hand Press.

As I soon learned after releasing Seeds of Discent, for all of the opportunity that exists in the creative freedom and autonomy of self-publishing, the support of a publishing company is still incredibly important, even with all of the gadgets we as individuals have at our disposal. Plus collaborating with people and working with other writers is a lot of fun. So after complaining that I didn’t want to have to go outside of Philly to find a publisher, a friend, almost as a challenge, told me to start my own.

Now that’s not to say that there aren’t some great publishers and literary magazines in Philly. Quirk Books is one of the best independent presses out there, and the Apiary Corporation has been building a great community of writers and body of work since it first began. To keep that community growing and to show Philly for the great literary town it is, we hope that The Head & The Hand can make a contribution.

If you have been to this site before, thanks for the support. If this is your first time, thanks for visiting. If you’d like to purchase a copy of Seeds of Discent, or find out more about what we do at The Head & The Hand Press, please click on the link to learn more about our projects and our great team working on them. 

Thanks,

Nic Esposito

From the first time I put the word Discent into the world until just the other day, people inquire about it’s meaning. The word comes from combing dissent, as in a dissenting opinion, with the the word descent, as in descending down to a simpler way of life. It’s a nice idea that the world needs more local food, but that idea is realized when you dig up your front lawn or a vacant lot and grow it yourself. I call this spreading the seeds of discent. Maybe you’ve read my ideas in the book, but now I want to read how you spread these seeds of discent in your own world whether it’s helping a neighbor, saving some energy or just simply making the world a better place. So please, send in your stories of ideas and action to seedsofdiscent@gmail.com. Every week I will post new stories of discent to spread these seeds as far as we can.

This is a press release from the Ethical Society of Philadelphia:

Cultivating Ethics on the Overnight Train to Korela: A Talk at the EHSoP Nov 13

Novelist and urban farm developer Nic Esposito will present an address, “Cultivating Ethics on the Overnight Train to Korela,” at 11:00 am Sunday, Nov 13 at the Ethical Humanist Society of Philadelphia (EHSoP), 1906 S. Rittenhouse Square. During his journey, Esposito discovered that his spiritual experience was not to be found in the many ashrams or temples scattered throughout the country’s landscape, but on an overnight train through the countryside. His travel narrative seeks to explore what can be found when people let go of their expectations and just enjoy the ride. The program is free and open to the public. For further information about all EHSoP religious and educational programs, call 215-735-3456 or visit http://www.phillyethics.org. Child care is available for Sunday morning programs, but please call to reserve.

Nic Esposito co-founded Philly Rooted, an organization which brought two community gardens, an urban farm and a grower’s cooperative to West Philadelphia. He is currently strategizing the development of the Marathon Urban Farm in the Brewerytown section of Philadelphia. Esposito released his first novel Seeds of Discent (sic) about Philadelphia’s urban family movement last April.

The EHSoP is a community of individuals and families who enjoy working together to celebrate and support each other in searching for meaning through creative ethical action and human relationships. EHSoP programs reflect belief in the individual’s capacity to make a difference in both personal life and in the larger world.

It has been a very exciting summer for Seeds of Discent. The book got off to a fast start, and has now reached a good groove of getting out to the public. A huge part of that has been the support of many people who have been affected by the book. However, an even larger part has been due to the amazing speaking engagements I’ve been privileged to do this season. And it looks like they are just going to continue.

This Thursday will be a busy day. I was asked to speak at Occupy Philly’s library at 3 PM this Thursday the 20th. I hope to see a few friendly faces down there.

Later that night on the 20th I’ll be at Better Blocks Philly (1701 Christian Street) at 6:30 to do a book talk.

For both talks I’ll be focusing on the main message of the book, building on the parable of the Ant and the Grasshopper. It has frustrated me that the Occupy Wall Street Protestors have been portrayed as wayward, smelly hippies, or techno brats who complain about Corporations while using Apple Products. The protest surrounds Corporate Greed, not solely Corporations. And many of the people out there are building a beautiful tent city of ideals, while people like myself are working in the larger city trying to put those ideals into action. We are all doing our part, we are all the Ants. Those who complain and do nothing, or those who excuse the greed of these corporations beacuse they are too tied to consumer culture are the grasshoppers. To hear me speak more about this, please come say hi at either event on Thursday.

-Nic

This past Tuesday I was privileged to share the stage with Alex Mulcahy, publisher of Grid magazine. This was a part of the Homespun Ingenuity series put on by Marathon Farm. The subject was telling the story of sustainability and the format followed something in the vein of the Dick Cavet show from the 70′s. It was a great evening of being able to explore the art of telling a story with such a great and effective story teller by having a conversation. This conversation was centered around where sustainability is today, and where we see it going in the future. It was great to be able to talk farming, as I usually do, but also to talk about the craft of writing. It was just another way to spread those seeds of discent. And if you’re looking for a new place to pick up a book, look for it in one of the many Marathon Grille locations through out the city.

-Nic

I just got back from an amazing weekend at the Philadelphia Folk Fest where I worked on the Greening Campaign. It’s a first year project to work to make the Folk Fest more sustainable. My partner in crime was Todd Henkin of the band the Great Unknown. It was a really cool collaboration between two artists who are working to make our city more sustainable. We made some great advancements and really rooted ourselves in the Festival for next year to make even more progress. This is just another example of spreading those seeds of discent farther into the fields of Philadelphia culture and hopefully beyond.

I was selling books at the fest. But if you happened to miss them, rememebr that you can pick one up through this website.

-Nic

Hey all,

Please join me for a reading from Seeds of Discent this Thursday at Blue Marble Books in the Mt. Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia (551 Carpenter Lane). The reading starts at 7 and will include a discussion of the book from both the philosophical and literary interpretations. I hope to see you all there.

-Nic

This weekend’s tour to Pittsburgh and back was an amazing time spent on the road. I spent Friday night at the home of one of my kickstarter supporters, Ms. Karen Antonelli. She was a wonderful host and the crowd she gathered at her home was really amazing. We shared stories, talked about the concept of Discent, and ate some very tasty food.

Karen was also kind enough to tour me around Pittsburgh to see all of the urban ag projects they have going out there, along with the beautiful garden and orchard she planted on her property. I finished up my trip in the State College area staying at the beautiful country home of some friends, and speaking at the lovely Lemont Cafe. Once again, it was inspiring to see all of the projects going on in that town as well and to meet all of the people who came out to hear me speak.

I can certainly see that the concept of Discent is not something that just exists in my mind. Those seeds have been planted in much of the soil of Pennsylvania. And I’m inspired to see what is growing from it.

-Nic

I’ve just added these two dates to accompany my story salon in Pittsburgh.

I’ll be at Lili Coffee Shop in Polish Hill outside of Pittsburgh on Saturday July 30th from 1-3 doing a book talk.

3138 Dobson St. Polish Hill, PA

I’ll also be at Cafe Lemont in Lemont PA outside of State College on Sunday July 31st from 12-2 spreading the Seeds of Discent there too.

921 Pike St. Lemont PA 16851

If you’re in the area, please take a stop by. I’m really looking to getting the book back on the road and I’m especially excited to do it in beautiful Western PA.

-nic

Along with the July 29th event in Pittsburgh, I will also be doing a book talk and signing at Blue Marble Books in the Mt. Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia. The reading will take place on Thursday August 11th at 7:00 PM. I’m really excited to finally get a chance to explore the themes, characters and literary techniques I employed to write the book, with of course, some advocacy for gardening and sustainability.

Also, as of today I am now selling on Amazon.com. Even though books can be purchased through this site, it’s great to be going through this trusted source for all things books.

-Nic