There are fewer grey seals in the world than endangered African elephants, but the British Isles host almost half of this global population. Every year these charismatic animals, with their expressive eyes and whiskers more sensitive than our fingertips, haul out on our shores to breed and raise their pups. There are fewer grey seals in the world than endangered African elephants, but the British Isles host almost half of this global population. Every year these charismatic animals, with their expressive eyes and whiskers more sensitive than our fingertips, haul out on our shores to breed and raise their pups. Susan Richardson has always been entranced by seals; they seem to have surfaced at key junctions throughout her life, comforting her as an anxious child, bringing joy as she began to spread her wings as a writer and helping her to find her way after the loss of her mother. Now she sets out to trace the rhythm of their lives, travelling the coasts clockwise from Cornwall to Norfolk, in line with the autumn pupping season. Along the way she explores the myths surrounding seals, from their shapeshifting selkie skins to the claims that they decimate fish populations, and she discovers that the greatest dangers they face come from co-existing with us. Brimming with vivid descriptions of the natural world, Where the Seals Sing is a lyrical tale of memory, rescue and rehabilitation. While loss, both personal and ecological, is a recurring theme, the human–seal connection that flows through the story is stirring and uplifting. Praise for Susan Richardson 'Cut and precise, archaic and innovative, transcendent and in-the-moment, [Susan Richardson] sees the life of the sea as a mirror of ourselves, and vice versa: always changing, always the same … Vital, glorious and salutary ' Philip Hoare, author of Leviathan ‘[Richardson] writes in prehensile language, capable of grasping something vast, ancient, chthonic: the Earth in must. Jay Griffiths, author of Wild ‘[Richardson] shows how art and writing can furnish both beautiful and challenging reflections on our relationship with animals … Precise and playful; rhapsodic and rebellious’ Andy Brown ‘Sparkling’ Margaret Elphinstone ‘Richardson’s voice swoops – passionate, ribald, funny, fierce – taking you up, on exhilarating flight, out from the cage of the everyday mind.’ Eleanor O’Hanlon, author of Eyes of the Wild ‘[Richardson] balances observation with “unseeing”, science with shamanism and myth’ Chris Kinsey ‘Susan Richardson beautifully marries the landscape of the polar regions with their – and her own – emotional topography.’ Sara Wheeler Exploring the Hidden Lives of Britain’s Grey Seals At the age of six, when asked the usual question about what she wanted to be when she grew up, Susan Richardson replied, ‘I want to travel round the world and write about animals.’ She is the author of four collections of poetry, the most recent of which, Words the Turtle Taught Me, themed around endangered ocean species, emerged from her residency with the Marine Conservation Society and was shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award. In addition to her ongoing writing residency with the British Animal Studies Network, facilitated by the University of Strathclyde, she has shared her work on BBC Two and Radio 3, and enjoyed a four-year stint as one of the poet-performers on Radio 4’s Saturday Live. Exploring the Hidden Lives of Britain’s Grey Seals IMMENSE POPULARITY OF SEALS and should pull in whale fans and people who love marine life and ocean habitats as well LYRICALLY WRITTEN by an author who is also a poet and has been shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award Firm foundation in UK-specific conservation Competition: H is for Hawk;The;Salt Path;Seabird’s Cry;People of the Sea;Leviathan;Finding the Mother Tree;Braiding Sweetgrass;world of wonders;Instant;Curlew Moon. Helen MacDonald;Raynor Winn;Adam Nicolson;David Thomson;Philip Hoare;Suzanne Simard;Robin Kimmerer;Amy Liptrot;Mary Colwell;Mark Avery;Macfarlane
Publicat de: HarperCollins Publishers