Land: a Love Story

- including a writing workshop and a writing exercise

I’m currently working with the novelist and poet Anna Chilvers to curate “The Book of Bogs”, which will be published by Little Toller and Blue Moose Books this September. It’s an incredible book, with poetry, short stories and more from 30 incredible writers, including Alys Fowler, Pascale Petit, Robert McFarlane, David Morley, Patti Smith - and of course, Kim Moore.

Kim has already treated you to a snippet of the short story she has written for the book, along with a description of the process which gave rise to it. In her article “Where do ideas come from anyway?” Kim writes about finding the idea for her story in an old notebook. In writing my lyric essay for the anthology, the biggest challenge was narrowing the ideas down … because I’m writing about my love for Walshaw Moor, and for moss, and peatland - and like Seamus Heaney’s bog, that love feels bottomless; it has no horizons.

On Sunday, Anna Chilvers and I will be running “Bog Bodies: A Creative Encounter” online from 10-30-12.30. We’re probably all familiar with the ancient bodies found in the bog in state of stunning preservation due to the chemical qualities of peat. But there are other bodies in the bogs and on the moors, just as fascinating. In this Sunday’s workshop we’ll focus on tardigrades (otherwise known as moss pigs or water bears) and the billions of tiny, other-worldly creatures of the bog; alongside Lindow and Tollund Man. You can find out more and book your ticket here:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bog-bodies-a-creative-encounter-tickets-1254853914839?aff=oddtdtcreator

I really hope to meet some of you there, and share with you some of my passion for bogs, whilst enabling you to write into some of the landscapes you most cherish. For myself, I’ve chosen to write a Love Story for the moors, using a three act structure: below, you’ll read the first act, or as it’s often known in Hollywood, “Meet cute”. perhaps you could start to write your own - how did you first encounter and connect with the place or landscape you most love? Follow the conventions of the love story: set a context for this connection; let us glimpse the character of the place; foreshadow some of the obstacles that might get in the way of your relationship. You might find it easier to write this in prose - or not! As always, please feel free to share your responses in chat - I always love to read your ideas and your writing.