Antlers of Water: Writing on the Nature and Environment of Scotland

About the Book

'Luminous' The Times
'Beautiful' Caught by the River

Bringing together contemporary Scottish writing on nature and landscape, this inspiring collection takes us from walking to wild swimming, from red deer to pigeons and wasps, from remote islands to back gardens, through prose, poetry and photography.

Edited and introduced by Kathleen Jamie, and with contributions from Amy Liptrot, Jim Crumley, Chitra Ramaswamy, Malachy Tallack, Amanda Thomson and many more, Antlers of Water urges us to renegotiate our relationship with the more-than-human world, in writing which is by turns celebratory, radical and political.

About the Author :

Kathleen Jamie is an award-winning Scottish poet and essayist, and Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Stirling. Her writing is rooted in Scottish landscape and culture, as shown in her acclaimed essay collections Findings,Sightlines and Surfacing. Her award-winning poetry collections include The Tree House and The Bonniest Companie. In 2018, Jamie was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. In 2021 she was appointed as Scotland's new Makar. She lives in Scotland.

@KathleenJamie | kathleenjamie.com

Review :
Splendid . . . Read, and treasure what we have while we have it A selection of luminous essays, poems and visual art . . . The most intuitive pieces reflect that nature is not something to be explored on weekends and in nice weather but through everyday rituals . . . [written with] a gallows humour and deftness of touch Varied and unexpected . . . The Scotland we find here is a bracingly complex place . . . Yields some very fine writing Essential . . . With fine contributions from a variety of diverse writers and artists, this is more than a celebration of the natural world; it is a call to action. From placenames to field notes, creatures to flora; bodies of water to stretches of land - this is a raw, exquisite reckoning, free from blinkers, full of love and loss. To protect something, we must see it. These contributors show us our world, one still so full of hope Beautiful . . . A series of authentic experiences, each individual immersing themselves in nature . . . Antlers of Water is a warm invitation to reimagine your intimacy to nature, whether that's within the confinements of a communal city garden or on an island surrounded by the vast ocean. But whilst we should enjoy it, in whatever manner we please, we must not forget we must also take care of it Features some fine writing on Scotland's environment Rich and intriguing . . . Illuminating, insightful and - even more important - necessary, there's something for everyone here, whether you're a devoted Munro bagger and birdwatcher or an occasional countryside visitor Provides relief and inspiration . . . Open-hearted . . . The knowledge that there is something bigger than ourselves, is a relief. How deep the water is, how old the mountains. Scotland is wild. I'm going out to look again Reveals why fresh awareness of wildlife and landscape should be cherished A bravura collection of essays on the splendour and wildness of the Scottish landscape, Antlers of Water is edited by the acclaimed Kathleen Jamie and draws together a stellar list of contributors