Nature Book Reader June 2020 - Flipbook - Page 24
A Nature Book Reader
RICHARD CARTER
A writer and photographer based in West Yorkshire
Findings and Sightlines
by Kathleen Jamie
In what seems to have become
a yearly tradition, I re-read
Kathleen Jamie’s Findings,
and its equally wonderful
sequel, Sightlines, every
September while on holiday
in Anglesey. Favourite books
for favourite places. Rationed
to once a year.
The remarkable essays
contained in Jamie’s two
books made me see nature
writing in a new light.
Nature writing, it turns out,
can be about re-examining
your relationship with the
natural world. It can be about
precious grabbed moments
in your working day. It can
be written by people who
are learning about nature:
non-experts, like you and me.
“As April passed, I looked
up books and field guides,
because I knew nothing about
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peregrines…” writes Jamie. “I
must learn to be patient, learn
to observe first-hand.”
Jamie is a successful
poet. I’ve noticed that many
poets also seem to have a
real knack for prose. This
has nothing to do with using
‘flowery’, aesthetic language.
Far from it. It’s a precision
thing. Jamie’s prose is some
of the clearest I’ve ever
read. Simple words. Simple
punctuation. Right to the
heart of the matter. She makes
it seem effortless. As a writer, I
appreciate it’s anything but.
Jamie also has a real
knack for identifying unusual
subject matter. On top of more
traditional topics, such as trips
to Scotland’s outlying islands,
she writes about decapitating
dead gannets, cleaning whale
skeletons in museums, being
