The Curse of Land Possession and the Possibility of Dwelling
This essay was originally published in Space on Space Magazine, on April 8, 2024. I know possession to be a curse. The notion that one...
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Meet Yanan
Yanan Rahim Navarez Melo is a writer, artist, and theologian from the Philippines. He is currently pursuing his M.Div. at Princeton Theological Seminary, where he works at the intersections of race, land, literature, and theology.
Follow him on Substack, Sacred Sonder, and on Instagram, @yananrahim.
Read Sacred Sonder on Substack
Yanan's Fieldnotes on Faith and Beauty
Sacred Sonder is a weekly, Substack newsletter where Yanan shares his reflections on faith and beauty as they intersect with his research on race, religion, settler colonialism, and ecology. In his activism, Yanan strives to understand the world in terms of a vision of creation that invites belonging and inspires diverse modes of making.
Through Sacred Sonder, Yanan seeks to inspire others to see beauty in the places that have been torn asunder — to touch the dirt and discover the journey of living in harmony with the land itself; to be enraptured by the wonder of creation(ing), and work toward justice in places where beauty is being distorted.
Publications
Yanan's writing and research have been featured in Christianity Today, Sojourners,
Inheritance, Bittersweet Monthly, Interfaith America, and more.
Music / Yanan & Siegfried
Genre-Defying Musicality, Poetry in Motion
Hailing from Cagayan de Oro, Philippines, Yanan Melo is an artist who seeks to bridge the gap between theological mysticism and artistic curiosity. Compelled by the tragic tale of Siegfried, a Germanic hero, Yanan created the music project Yanan & Siegfried as a meditation on spiritual decay and eucharistic descent.
Yanan crafts a unique, genre-defying neoclassical sound with a diversity of inspirations, ranging from post-rock to hip-hop and house music. With his music, the Filipino composer divulges the experience of doubt and restlessness as a means of grace — a painful, yet growing journey to touch the fingertips of the divine.
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