Conversation Piece, October 22, 2017

Enjoy our Sunday series, Conversation Piece, a NUVO–curated digest of things on the Internet we think you’ll want to talk about.

And the word is… If you’ve ever had a strange, specific feeling and wished there was a vocabulary word with which to convey it, artist John Koenig can relate. Koenig is the author of The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows—a compendium of invented words to capture obscure feelings, like morii (the desire to capture a fleeting experience) and zenosyne (the sense that time keeps going faster). Discover more of his oddly satisfying linguistic inventions, here.

Planter’s plight. Acclaimed Canadian war photographer Rita Leistner’s latest exhibition captures not conflict, but rather the intensity of tree planting in the rugged terrains of Western Canada. Set to open this weekend at the Stephen Bulger Gallery in Toronto, The Tree Planters elevates workers of a harsh and unforgiving job to the realm of epic art. See the visuals, and read an interview with Leistner, here.

Nurture over nature. University of Cambridge psychologist Brian R. Little explores the fluidity of personality in his new book, Who Are You, Really?, seeking to offer insight into how we create our own identities, and why they’re more flexible than we assume. Here, The Cut’s Kristin Wong interviews Little on initiating change and why “being yourself” can be a boring way to live. Read more.

Woman power. It’s no secret: aging is harder for women. As Ashton Applewhite writes for The New York Times, women “bear the brunt of the equation of beauty with youth and youth with power — the double-whammy of ageism and sexism.” So what’s a girl to do? Instead of slathering on the night cream, Applewhite offers some starting points to help women look at themselves, and each other, in a new light—wrinkles and all. Read more, here.

_________