About the Book
A book in which 20 women writers from all over Wales recount their deep personal connections to the landscapes which have shaped their lives - their loves, their joys, their losses, their inner and their outer worlds. This book brings a feminine perspective, with both new and established voices, to contemporary nature writing in Britain. First published in May 2008.
Table of Contents:
1/ Walking Through, Christine Evans walking in the dark on Ynys Enlli, Bardsey Island.
2/ Hand of a Giant, Sin Melangell Dafydd discovering a passion for climbing as a child.
3/A Crows playground on Mynydd Hiraethog, Elaine Walker a woman observes the natural world that circles her home.
4/ Diary of a Winter Afternoon, Sue Anderson a mother takes a last walk with her son through their favourite wood, before he leaves home.
5/ Pencaer, Gwyneth Evans leaving the farm which has been in her family for over 50 years, and where important archaeological remains have been discovered.
6/ The Rockpool, Dee Rivaz growing up on the Anglesey shoreline and treasured memories of a childhood outdoors.
7/ Seeking the Positives, Ruth Joseph watching kites in Rhayader and healing a lost friendship.
8/ No refund for clouds, Hilary Lloyd the joy and the pain of living and working on a smallholding in Wales, and of having to leave.
9/ Horizontal Perspective, Patricia Barrie on the advent of antibiotics, a young girl must lie in bed for months to rest her lungs. She describes the outdoor world she loves from the view out of her bedroom window.
10/ Lured by Boundaries, Emily Hinshelwood a woman searching for inspiration, takes off to walk the Pembrokeshire coastal path.
11/ Painting Dyffryn Tanat, Jackie Davies an artist describes how the landscape around her home inspires her work.
12/ Lloydia serotina Life on the edge, Barbara Jones conservationist and ecologist for CCW talks about her passion for researching the ecology and genetics of the Snowdon lily.
13/ Departure and Return, Carys Shannon connecting with the same landscape before and after her mothers funeral, at Three Cliffs Bay, Gower.
14/ Underground in Llethryd Swallet, Maggie Cainen a caving expedition that ends in near disaster.
15/ Cwm Idwal, Jean Lyon fi rst mountaineering experiences in North Wales.
16/ Half Way up, Katherine Cuthbert continued active enjoyment of the Welsh countryside is possible despite MS.
17/ Y Coity, Martha Stephens the beauty of a much loved, little visited mountain in the post-industrial landscape of Blaenavon, South Wales.
18/ Snowed in, Paula Brackston exposed to the elements both beautiful and dangerous in a converted longhouse high up in the welsh hills.
19/ All at Sea, Jackie Williamson sailing round the coast of Wales.
20/ Spirit of the Teifi , Sarah Boss life and spiritual connections living near the Afon Teifi.
21/ Finding More than was Lost, Jill Teague a fell runner reconnects with the landscape after a long, unexplained illness.
22/ Throwing the Magnet, Jay Griffiths elements of the heart, tracks of memory and what it means to belong and to return.
About the Author :
Jane MacNamee is a nature and travel writer devoting most of her work to the British landscape. Her writing and book reviews have appeared in "BBC History" magazine, "Gwales," "Pure-Organic Living Magazine," "This Mountain," "Time Out," and "Resurgence "as well as a number of poetry magazines and the Rough Guide series.
Review :
This collection of autobiographical essays reflects a wide range of experiences of the Welsh landscape mountain, river, farm, shore and cave through the eyes of 23 women. Some are distant but sharply etched childhood memories, some journals of discovery, some mature reassessments, some farewells. Jane MacNamee's thoughtful introduction points us towards shared values: time given to experience, to realise, to belong. Sometimes there is a specific purpose but mostly they describe a journey into Being which, for many, is also a journey towards healing, too. These are not armchair naturalists remembering golden days, but people with grit under their fingernails. And this is Wales (where there is no refund for clouds) there is mud and rain, the fear of being trapped in hill-fog, blizzard and gale, in treacherous rocks and caves. Yet the overwhelming impression is of gratitude and appreciation for the chance to have lived in a very special place and these writers have the gift of sharing that wonder not only with their children or friends, but also with their readers. From so many it is hard to select individual gems but I particularly enjoyed the immediacy of the three diaries. Poet Emily Hinshelwood, looking for inspiration by walking the Pembroke coastal path, was overwhelmed by its rich, quirky life and history. Jane Matthews Skomer Log love story captures the magic of a very special time. Sue Anderson's Diary of a Winter Afternoon is a brief but intensely felt and observed experience of transition. One of the most satisfying depictions is the relationship between Martha Stephens and Y Coity, the unglamorous 'old lady' of Torfaen, resilient and forgiving. Jackie Davies, the painter, speaks for most of the writers when she says simply We are so lucky to live here and wishes, by capturing the landscape, to bless it as it has blessed me. This collection lacks the rich photographic images of Jane MacNamee's other recent tribute to the Welsh landscape, On This Mountain, but readers who enjoyed that should also find much to admire here. Caroline Clark It is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgment should be included: A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council. Gellir defnyddio'r adolygiad hwn at bwrpas hybu, ond gofynnir i chi gynnwys y gydnabyddiaeth ganlynol: Adolygiad oddi ar www.gwales.com, trwy ganiatd Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru. -- Welsh Books Council
