Melissa Harrison - Winter: An Anthology for the Changing Seasons

An anthology for the changing seasons

Edited by Melissa Harrison

First published 2016 by

Elliott and Thompson Limited

27 John Street, London WC1N 2BX

www.eandtbooks.com

ISBN: 978-1-78396-253-2

This collection Elliott & Thompson 2016

Introduction Melissa Harrison 2016

Copyright in the contributions the Contributors 2016

The Authors have asserted their right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Authors of this Work.

Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders for material used within this book. Where this has not been possible, the publisher will be happy to credit them in future editions.

Page 1: From Notes from Walnut Tree Farm by Roger Deakin (London: Hamish Hamilton 2008). Roger Deakin, 2008. Reproduced by permission of Penguin Books Ltd.; Page 11: Lucy Jones, from Foxes Unearthed (London: Elliott & Thompson, 2016); Page 19: Jen Hadfield, Nigh-No-Place (Bloodaxe Books, 2008). Reproduced with permission of Bloodaxe Books. www.bloodaxebooks.com; Page 23: From Reverend Gilbert Whites Journals, ed. Walter Johnson (London: George Routledge, 1931); Page 26: Adapted from material first published in the Biddestone Broadsheet. Elizabeth Gardiner; Page 30: John Fowles, from The Journals: Volume 2 (London: Jonathan Cape, 2006) J. R. Fowles Ltd 2006; Page 42: From Small Island by Andrea Levy, Copyright 2004 by Headline Publishing. Reprinted by permission of David Grossman Literary Agency Ltd; Page 44: Translation Eleanor Parker 2014; Page 67: Failing Light is taken from Out of the Valley: Another Year at Wormingford Ronald Blythe, 2007. Published by Canterbury Press. Used by permission; Page 69: A version of this piece first published in Eastern Daily Press Norfolk, 2013. Norfolk Wildlife Trust; Page 71: Snow from Collected Poems by Louis MacNeice (Faber & Faber), printed by permission of David Higham Associates Limited; Page 76: From Black Country by Liz Berry, published by Chatto & Windus. Reproduced by permission of The Random House Group Ltd; Page 79: Henry Tegner, from A Border County (1955), courtesy of the Authors Estate; Page 88: From The Cherry Tree, copyright the estate of the late Adrian Bell; Page 91: Al Alvarez, 2013, Pondlife: A Swimmers Journal, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; Page 93: From The Collected Poems of R.S. Thomas 19451990 (Phoenix, 2003). Reproduced by permission of the Authors Estate; Page 94: From Reverend Gilbert Whites Journals, ed. Walter Johnson (London: George Routledge, 1931); Page 95: Copyright Richard Adams 1985. First published by Viking 1985; reproduced with kind permission of David Higham Associates Ltd; Page 117: Courtesy of Bill Douglas Cinema Museum, University of Exeter; Page 123: From Tarka the Otter by Henry Williamson, published by Pelican and Penguin Modern Classics. The Henry Williamson Literary Estate; Page 137: Copyright Robert Macfarlane, 2003. Reproduced by permission of Granta Publications; Page 141: From Yesterdays Harvest, Brian Carter. Reproduced by kind permission of the Authors Estate; Page 148: From John Clare: Major Works, eds. Eric Robinson and David Powell (Oxford Worlds Classics, 1984); Page 149: Sheila Stewart, from Lifting the Latch: A Life on the Land (1987), courtesy of the Authors Estate; Page 167: From Reverend Gilbert Whites Journals, ed. Walter Johnson (London: George Routledge, 1931); Page 176: From Clare Leightons The Farmers Year, courtesy of the authors estate; Page 202 Light by Kathleen Jamie, a chapter extract from Sightlines Kathleen Jamie 2012. Published by Sort of Books, www.sortof.co.uk.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

Commissioning editor: Jennie Condell. Series research: Brnagh Woods

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Cover illustration by Lynn Hatzius

W hen we think of winter, we often think of snow: deep drifts of it blanketing our rooftops and gardens, fields and lanes; white and silent and still. Snow appears on our Christmas cards and wrapping paper, despite white Christmases being vanishingly rare; and it looms large in our childhood memories of winter, outcompeting, by its glamour, the more mundane (but far more common) days of freezing rain or louring, gunmetal skies.

Snow is common in English literature, too particularly that concerned with the natural world. Small wonder, for what a satisfying thing it is to describe, and how useful to a storyteller its transformational properties can be! In selecting the classic extracts for this anthology snow seemed at first glance to be everywhere: shorthand, almost, for winters lifeless grip. But look a little further and theres far more on offer, from Deakins sharp, sugaring frost to Barbellions low and luminant winter sun.

Because winter, of course, means much more than snow, as the sheer variety of pieces old and new here demonstrates. Whats more, its far from lifeless, for everywhere nature is persisting, readying itself for the age-old cycle to begin again. In the trees the sap is low, the deciduous leaves now shrivelled and lost; but life continues, deep beneath the bark, waiting for the days to lengthen again. Many of our summer birds have flown south but a new cast arrives to winter with us, here to escape even colder conditions elsewhere. Some creatures, like hedgehogs and red admirals, hibernate, but others simply slow down for a while, food being less available and temperatures being low. And everywhere albeit mostly unseen insects, and their eggs and larvae, nymphs and pupae, find clever ways (including antifreeze!) to survive the big chill.

This book is the fourth in a quartet of seasonal anthologies published in support of The Wildlife Trusts, a coalition of 47 local groups who together look after around 2,300 special places in the UK. They manage them for wildlife and for people as part of an attempt to help nature in these islands recover from its recent, worrying decline. Ive loved working on this series, not least for the opportunity its offered to discover new and diverse voices and its my hope that this series hasnt just celebrated our living landscapes but inspired you to get out and connect with wildlife for yourself. Because its up to us to turn things around now, and we can start by engaging with and learning about the places that we love.

And that means in chilly weather, too not just on fine and sunny days! We cannot learn the story of the year if we read only eight or nine of its twelve chapters, said Edward Step in 1930, and I couldnt agree more. Theres a world of seasonal excitement out of doors at this time of year, so as well as cosying up with a good book (like this one), be sure to make time for everything wild and wonderful the depths of winter bring.

Melissa Harrison, Winter 2016

A sharp, sugaring frost. The mulberry is at its best in November when at last it undresses itself. It does a sort of striptease before my study window, lightly letting go its leaves in a light breeze that seems to touch only this one tree after the stillness of the frosty night. The leaves float down in twos and threes, or just a single leaf at a time.