The 2021 Urban Tree Festival Book Club
With Peter Fiennes
Read on…
As lockdown eases at last, The Urban Tree Festival is delighted to be able to connect us (in the real and virtual worlds) with a compelling group of nature writers.
Peter Fiennes (‘Oak and Ash and Thorn’) will be talking with Rob Cowen and Nick Hayes about their new illustrated book of poetry, ’The Heeding’; walking in the woods with Katharine Norbury, editor of the new collection ‘Women on Nature’; discussing the thrilling ‘I Belong Here' with Anita Sethi; and walking and talking with Ruth Pavey, author of ‘Deeper into the Wood’, her follow up to ‘A Wood of One’s Own’.
We’ll also be hosting Tracy Chevalier and Jonathan Drori, who (among other things) will be discussing whether fiction or non fiction is better for revealing the wonder of trees.
It is an exciting time to be discovering writers about nature, but it is also an important one. Nature is under assault like never before, and the Urban Tree Festival will be taking a stand with some extraordinarily powerful and inspiring voices.
Books, Trees and Woods
Rob Cowen and Nick Hayes The Heeding
Peter Fiennes talks to Rob Cowen and Nick Hayes about their hugely acclaimed new book of poetry 'The Heeding', published in June 2021. Robert Macfarlane has described it as ‘dazzling, moving … A book that will touch many, and be given often: here, take this, you must read this.’
Words by Rob Cowen (author of ‘Common Ground’), illustrations by Nick Hayes (‘The Book of Trespass’).
There'll be a chance to ask questions at the end.
Date: Saturday 15th May
Time: 4-5pm
Tickets: Free (donations welcome)
Katharine Norbury Women on Nature
To celebrate the (partial) end of lockdown, and the launch of her new book, author Katharine Norbury (‘The Fish Ladder’) will be walking in Wimbledon Common with Peter Fiennes. There are limited spaces! But this is a great chance to walk in the company of Katharine Norbury, whose anthology ‘Women on Nature’ is a truly groundbreaking compilation of women’s writing on the natural world.
Date: Monday 17th May
Time: 11.30am; lasting about an hour (but no more than 90 mins)
Location: Wimbledon Common, SW London; meeting point will be confirmed on booking.
Price: £15 (places limited).
Anita Sethi I Belong Here
Peter Fiennes talks to author Anita Sethi about her powerful new book ‘I Belong Here: a Journey Along the Backbone of Britain’, described as "a thing of beauty" by the Sunday Times and "a memoir of rare power" by the Guardian. It’s a journey of reclamation through the natural landscapes of the North, brilliantly exploring identity, nature, place and belonging.
There'll be a chance to ask questions at the end.
Date: Tuesday 18th May
Time: 4-5pm
Tickets: Free (donations welcome)
Ruth Pavey Deeper into the Wood
Ruth Pavey, author of the bestselling ‘A Wood of One’s Own’, and her brand new sequel ‘Deeper into the Wood’, will be leading a walk across Hampstead Heath in the company of author Peter Fiennes.
Bring your own paper and pencils if you’d like to join Ruth in sketching the trees.
Date: Sunday 23rd May
Time: 10.30am; lasting about an hour (but no more than 90 mins)
Location: Highgate to Hampstead Heath, NW London; meeting point will be confirmed on booking.
Tickets: £15 (places limited)
Tracy Chevalier and Jonathan Drori
Tracy Chevalier (Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Last Runaway) discusses trees, literature and life with Jonathan Drori (Around the World in 80 Trees, Around the World in 80 Plants). Tree lovers both!
A Q+A will follow.
Further information will be sent on booking. The event is being hosted by the Arboricultural Association.
Tickets: free.
Supported by the Woodland Trust.