I’ve been involved with the Paperboats Writers Collective for a few years now – a group of writers focussed on Nature and Environment at this time of ecological and climate breakdown – and I am very happy to have a poem featured in the latest Issue of the Paperboats E-Zine.
This issue revolves around the theme of Edens – Edens lost but also Edens hoped for or imagined, and grounded in the reality of the world we live in. My poem ‘Longings’ responds to this idea and I’m flattered that it has been included alongside such great company.
Edited by Laura Fyfe and Chris Powici with cover and graphic design by Sandy Winterbottom, you can read Edens over at Paperboats Writers
Episodes 9 and 10 of the Paperboats Podcast have their roots in a striking symbiosis between two writers and environmental campaigners, each drawing compelling parallels between the whaling industry and our continued reliance on fossil fuels.
In Episode 9,Matt Sowerby reads from his essay, ‘Hope is The Thing with Flippers’, which was the winning entry to the 2024 Nature Chronicles Prize, discussing the inspiration and thinking behind it. He also talks about the legacy of whaling and what we can learn in context with the climate crisis and the use of fossil fuels; about his journey as both an activist and writer; the relationship between writing, activism and performance; and his current writing focus on oil and the ocean. He closes with a moving account of his thoughts on what hope might mean in the face of the climate emergency, and a second reading from his award-winning essay.
In Episode 10,Sandy Winterbottom reads an extract from her adventure travel memoir,The Two Headed Whale, which describes her experience finding the grave of a young whaler while visiting an abandoned whaling station on South Georgia during her life-changing voyage to Antarctica in 2016. She talks about the journey of discovery and understanding the writing of the book took her on as she uncovered the tragic details of the young whaler’s life, drawing parallels between whaling and a self-perpetuating fossil fuel industry. Sandy also describes an event that she organised to bring writers and activists together at Aberdeen’s Maritime Museum in 2024 which took its name from Matt’s essay and featured his solo performance of the stage adaptation. Sandy also talks about hope, about action, and the importance of a just transition. The episode closes with a reading from recent work Sandy published in the Scotsman.
Episode 10 with Sandy marks the final episode of Season 1 of the podcast, but it will be back in the autumn for a second season featuring interviews and readings from more writers, artists and poets associated with the Paperboats Writers collective.
It has been a real privilege spending time in their company, so do take some time out to catch these two wonderful writers working so well together to capture the same themes in wonderfully different ways.
Follow the link below to listen, like, share and subscribe.
In the latest episode of the Paperboats Podcast I speak with naturalist, photographer and nature writer, Polly Pullar.
Polly talks about her early life growing up in Ardnamurchan on the west coast of Scotland, how her love of nature and wildlife brought her solace through a difficult period and continues to inspire her passionately today. She discusses the plight of Scotland’s wildlife under the pressures of climate change and habitat loss, and reads from her Paperboats Zine piece, ‘A Solan Goose Summer,’ which highlights how climate change, the avian bird-flu epidemic, and increasing food scarcity is threatening this wonderful seabird.
I had a great chat with Polly. Her love of nature and her zest for life is infectious, so I hope you’ll give this episode a listen, and if you enjoy it, please do like and subscribe!
If you’re concerned about climate change, want to delve further into the issues surrounding it, and like great writing, the Paperboats Podcast brings you a host of fantastic nature writers.
Find it on your preferred platform or head to Paperboats Podcasts and follow the links from there.
‘The screeching increased, and we found the terns now hovering above our heads: dark, piercing eyes glaring down at us, the flash of razored wings folding in on themselves in a sudden flurry of air and feathers as they dove to drive us off. We stumbled on, wary of our footsteps and continually harried by the terns. Eventually we came across a half-collapsed stone dyke and ducked down behind it, leaving the mass of screaming birds behind and feeling guilty for our intrusion.’
Very happy to have some new writing back on THE CLEARING.
It stems from a trip to Orkney in the summer where I had an encounter with an arctic tern colony, and reflects on the draw of the islands and the potential negative impacts of tourism on Orkney’s wildlife.
THE CLEARING is a journal of landscape, nature and place published by Little Toller based in Dorset and edited by Jon Woolcott, author of Real Dorset.
If you’re not familiar with Paperboats Writers, they’re a fantastic group of writers working across Scotland (and beyond) to highlight the impacts of climate change, the ecological collapse we’re all witness to, and the things we can do to help bring about positive change.
In each episode I meet with a different writer from the Paperboats collective. We discuss their work, and the issues they write about.
We hear Scotland’s Makar Kathleen Jamie (National Poet for Scotland 2021 – 2024) read her inspirational poem ‘What the Clyde Said, After Cop 26’, discuss the formation of Paperboats Writers, the importance of a Just Transition, and the work of Global Justice Now and the Scottish Rewilding Alliance.
In upcoming episodes I’ll be talking with author Linda Cracknell about the Flow Country and her book Doubling Back, and with Nature Writer and photographer Polly Pullar about the plight of the gannet and Polly’s life-long relationship with wildlife.
Many more fantastic Nature Writers to feature in the coming months, so I hope you’ll give it a listen, and follow and subscribe to keep up with future episodes.
Groundings 