When I set out to write this commission I wanted to listen to the land, as though I was pressing my ear to the earth to hear the singing faeries inside (although I hadn’t heard about them at this point). I hoped to build on my knowledge of the Dorset National Landscape, and act in a listening role. I was honoured to get to speak to many people, from different walks of life, about their stories of land. I learned about farming life – which I previously knew nothing about – and now deeply understand the need to protect our farmers as well as hold gratitude for their hard work in caring for the land and providing us with food. I worked organically with the stories that came in, and by the end of my ‘gathering’ phase I had over sixty pages of material! I sifted through this again and again and condensed it down to what you read here, which is something in between poetry and prose. If there are any mistakes with the details, that’s on me – I hope I haven’t made too many. My biggest takeaway from these rich and wonderful conversations was that people in Dorset LOVE talking about their relationship with nature and the land. And I loved listening to them. I hope you do, too.
Acknowledgments
Heartfelt thanks to all the Nature Calling participants who gave up their time to talk to me and shared their stories so generously. I wasn’t able to include everyone’s voices in the final piece, but each and every conversation added to my knowledge of the area and helped shape this commission. Thanks to staff and members of the following organisations and community groups: Dorchester Youth Council, Jurassic Multicultural Network, People First Dorset, Dorchester Access Group, Birchfield and Westfield Community Groups in Yeovil, the National Trust Studland Bay; and to the children of St Marks’ Primary School, Swanage. Special thanks to Martin Maudsley (because it would be remiss of me to not credit another writer’s words – how I loved ‘the stories its fascia, its geology the bones’) and to my mentor extraordinaire, Rachel Long, who helped with a last minute, much needed chiselling-into-shape! Finally, thanks to the teams at Activate, Dorset National Landscape, the Poetry School, and National Landscapes Association – you have all been truly amazing. It’s been a privilege to work with you on this important, beautiful and inclusive project.
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