Song from the Forest: My Life among the Pygmies

His book on the impacts of palm oil plantations on the indigenous people and animals of Borneo is forthcoming from Beacon Press.. He is a professor of philosophy and music at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.Alex Shoumatoff is a senior contributing editor to Vanity Fair and a former staff writer at the New Yorker. His exploration of the Pygmies is now the focus of a major documentary fi

As a young man, American Louis Sarno heard a song on the radio that gripped his imagination. Nothing could have prepared him for life among the Pygmies, a people legendary for their short stature and musical wealth. Sarno never left.Considered outwardly lazy by some, scrounging, and near alcoholic, the Pygmies Sarno met had seemingly lost all desire to hunt or make music. Permanently changed by his experience and captivated by a Bayaka culture, In Song from the Forest Sarno has chronicled his attempt to protect the fragile existence of the Pygmies in an increasingly destructive world.Once, when his son, Samedi, became seriously ill and Sarno feared for his life, he held his son in his arms through a frightful night and made him a promise: If you get through this, one day I’ll show you the world I come from.” Now the time has come to fulfill his promise.In a new major documentary film, Sarno tells the story of the Bayaka as he travels with Samedi from the African rain forest to another jungle, one of concrete, glass, and asphalt: New York City. SONG FROM THE FOREST is a modern epic film set between rainforest and skyscrapers.. With some funding from musician Brian Eno, he followed the mysterious sounds all the way to the Central African rain forest and found their source with the Bayaka Pygmies, a tribe of hunters and gatherers. Only after he had lived with them for some time (on a diet of t

He is the author of The Rivers , Russian Blood, In Southern Light, and The World Is Burning, among other books, and editor of the website Dispatches from the Vanishing World, celebrating the world’s fast-disappearing natural and cultural diversity. His seven-month journey from the source of the Niger River to its mouth brought fame with his best-selling book Regenzauber (On the River of GodsSong from the Forest is his first film. His exploration of the Pygmies is now the focus of a major documentary film. He is originally from New Jersey.Michael Obert is an award-winning German author and journalist. He is a professor of philosophy and music at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.Alex Shoumatoff is a senior contributing editor to Vanity Fair and a former staff writer