Feather, Leaf, Bark and Stone

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Feather, Leaf, Bark & Stone is a book of poems and meditations with a difference. More than a hundred short texts have been typed onto small squares of gold leaf, then photographed. These pieces are arranged in a sequence which culminates in a glorious final section made up of texts typed directly onto leaves, bark and feathers. I will be talking about the book at Wealden Festival 25th June. Have a read here as to what they say about the book. The line-up of people for this festival is really rather fine. Really looking forward to going and I am on a promise of nightingales ( I am resisting all invitations away from my studio at the moment as I have such a massive amount of work to do, and, well, I would rather be home painting and walking and trying to re-establish a little fitness, so it was only with the offer of the chance to hear nightingales that Wealden lured me away. And I want to listen to so many of the talks also)

Michael had filmed a couple of pieces, and I sent the second to Seven Fables. Next morning Chris and Davina sent me this: The sunlit poems are a window into a private grief. In one, she laments how bereavement has paralysed her. Each short text has been typed onto a small square of gold leaf, then photographed. There are 144 of these pieces arranged in a sequence which culminates in a glorious final section where the texts are typed directly onto leaves, bark and feathers.Unbound and Morris are planning to "honour" the bookshops thathave supported the book by leaving gifts of gilded stones in independent shops for readers to discover. Navigating the death of a loved one has of course been the subject for countless writers, from John Donne and CS Lewis, to Joan Didion and more recently Max Porter and Clover Stroud. These explorations of an individual’s own grief can offer others comfort. Unbound is nowMorris’exclusive UK and North American publisher for her solowork. As well as The Unwindings, Unbound has released Song of the Golden Hare and the reimagined and redesigned special editions, with some new illustrations,of both East of the Sun, West of the Moon and The Wild Swans which are published next month. Now, the next film, as the book is about to be published: Made at Druidstone, by Chris and Davina, with beautiful music/soundscape from Molly Howell. First is from Marry Waterson, who has made a few films with and for me ( we have one on the shortlist of a poetry film competition at the moment, a collaborative poem with Ian Duhig). This one features Michael Sheen, words by me, film by Marry and love how she has used my ink otters.

There’s still time to buy direct from Unbound, and also if you are a bookshop, get in touch and let them know if you are interested. This was my ‘unwinding’ from the chaos of trying to work through a pandemic, the loss of my father, the worries, the fears. But it couldn’t be more different from The Unwinding. Many of the poems are typed on a typewriter that had belonged to her father, on shimmering sheets of gold leaf – “I had lots of gold leaf lying around after The Lost Words”, Morris tells me – before being photographed in the light of her Pembrokeshire garden. The same week her father died, her partner’s brother, Jeremy, died by suicide. “We were utterly raw, riddled with all kinds of guilt. The two things coming together in the same week were just devastating.

Feather, Leaf, Bark & Stone is a book of poems and meditations with a difference. More than a hundred short texts have been typed onto small squares of gold leaf, then photographed. These pieces are arranged in a sequence which culminates in a glorious final section made up of texts typed directly onto leaves, bark and feathers. In a thrilling and dangerous adventure they must all journey alone through the ice fields, forests and oceans of Rumyc to try to rescue each other and fulfil a mysterious promise about a lost island made to their mother. The book is now going to press. There are two editions, but the only difference is the cover, one with type, one without. Now comes the task of trying to help the book find readers. One of the ways to do this is to get the book in to the right category in a bookshop. Easy enough you might think…… If a bookshop is a cacophony of stories, all waiting to be heard, my hope is that FLB&S is a lullaby in a minor key. Thefeminist fairytale retellingswere launched at the Cheltenham Festival over the weekend,when Morris was joined by her publisher John Mitchinson for an evening of live drawing and conversation about art, dreams, and fairytales.

Again, if you enjoy the film please make a small donation to the Trussell Trust, but only if you can. The book is away to the London Book Fair where it will meet with publishers from around the world. Talking with my agent, she asking, ‘is it fiction or none fiction?’ My answer was, yes, but even the fiction in there is fact, if you know what I mean. And part of the problem is that this is one of those books that needs readers to tell you what it is, but in the meantime it needs to find the folk who need it. Feather, Leaf, Bark & Stone is a book of poems and meditations with a difference. More than a hundred short texts have been typed onto small squares of gold leaf, then photographed. These pieces are arranged in a sequence which culminates in a glorious final section made up of texts typed directly onto leaves, bark and feathers. The way that I made sense of things, or tried to, was through writing,” she explains. “It was like the spaces in between breaths, these small pieces of writing.”The path that her father’s doctors were suggesting for his care seemed to be at odds with his wishes. “He told me ‘I’ve had a good life. And I want to go now, I don’t want to live like this’,” she says, eyes wet with tears. After a long illness, he was nearing the end of his journey. In amidst all the busy activity Robin and I drove up a side road, found a place to park, with a view, and read for half an hour ( I was reading Orlam by P J Harvey, Robin was reading What We Owe the Future by William MacAskill). Far away by a hay bale I spied ears. I keep binoculars in the car for bird spotting. This is what I saw.