About this Event
Reaching forwards to the uncertain future and back into deep time, writers James Roberts and Tom Bullough have both written extraordinary accounts of seeking out the wild places in the world. These profoundly personal journeys seek to grapple with the devastating reality of the climate crisis, while acknowledging the vitality and transformative power of the natural world.
Two Lights by James Roberts - An extraordinary account of searching for the wildness left in our world - spanning continents and geological eras, skies and oceans, animals and birds, and even the planets and stars. With dizzying acuity and insight Roberts paints a portrait of a life and its landscapes, creating precious connections with wild creatures and places, from swans in the Cambrian Mountains to wolves in the Pacific Northwest. By walking at dawn and dusk, in the two lights of awakening and deepening, through the stripped, windswept hills of Wales, and the jungles and savannahs of Africa, he tries to navigate from a soul-stripping sense of loss towards hope in the future. In the presence of wild creatures he finds a way back to life.
Sarn Helen by Tom Bullough - From the author of Addlands, and featuring illustrations by Jackie Morris, an immersive and evocative non-fictional journey through Wales and a revelatory meditation on the nation's past, present and future. Sarn Helen - Helen's Causeway - is the old Roman Road that runs from the south of Wales to the north. As Tom walks the route, sometimes alone, sometimes in company, he describes the changing landscape around him and explores the political, cultural and mythical history of this country that has been so divided, by language and by geography. Running alongside this journey is the story of Tom's engagement with the issue of the climate crisis and its likely impact on the Welsh coastline. From one of Wales' most celebrated younger writers, Sarn Helen is at once a vivid and immersive portrait of a nation, and a resonant meditation upon the way in which we are shaped by place and in turn shape the places - potentially irrevocably.
- James Roberts is a writer and artist who lives in the hills of the Welsh Border country. His essays and poems have been published widely and his artwork has featured in several exhibitions, books and theatre productions. Two Lights is his first book of non-fiction.
- Tom Bullough grew up on a hill farm in Radnorshire, Wales, and lives in the Brecon Beacons with his children. He is a climate activist and a freelance tutor in creative writing, and runs regular courses on climate and writing for Black Mountains College and the Arvon Foundation.
Start Time: 6:30pm
Tickets: £5 (Ticket price includes a glass of wine or soft drink and is redeemable against the published price of Two Lights or Sarn Helen on the night of the event.)
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Bristol Stanfords, 29 Corn Street, Bristol, United Kingdom
GBP 5.00