Write Out Loud (Reviews and Writing)

“We’re losing nature in huge swathes and not realising it.“

I reviewed Macfarlane’s ‘Lost Spells’ a little while ago after reviewing a wonderful production at Keswick’s Theatre by the Lake. Although the production was named after the Lost Spells, it was very much based both on that book and this one, The Lost Words. Both books were on sale afterwards and, such was the power of the production, I bought both and read them within hours.

It wasn’t difficult to do, of course. Both books are aimed very much with children in mind. Although The Lost Spells is a little more wordy and ‘adulty’, there are so many beautiful drawings (created by Jackie Morris) that it makes it a lovely book for adults to read to children. The Lost Words is even more the case.

This book is oversized hardback which means that all the pictures within are huge and look magnificent. Jackie Morris really does have the gift of making her pictures of nature come to life. You feel the temperature, hear the sounds and see the leaves fluttering or the wings flapping. It is quite, quite magical.

That magic is part of the ethos behind both books. Spells that are lost, words which are lost, the magic of nature is lost too. That’s Macfarlane’s warning. We’re losing the real world while stuck behind our screens and in our offices. And that world is shrinking.

Some of these words are simple enough: wren, bluebell, starling, otter, magpie, ivy. Others, a little more unusual: weasel, heather, bramble. Nothing totally unknown. You might even think ‘these words aren’t lost at all’. But are they? Could you recognise a starling? I can’t. When was the last time you saw an otter or weasel in the flesh? I’m not sure I’ve even seen either. Certainly not since childhood. Can you tell heather from bramble from ivy? I might be able to but I’m not sure. I absolutely couldn’t draw them if you asked me to.

That’s the point. When I grew up in the 70s, children’s book and TV series were obsessed with nature – birds, flowers, wildlife – and even how to tie different kinds of knots and build your own fire. Now. to learn anything of these, you have to join the scouts or the girl guides or similar. As adults, it is all but lost to us. Life is less interesting as a result, but also more in peril.

Remember the realisation – made viral a few years ago – that our windscreens are no longer covered in the mucky remains of dead insects? What used to be a nuisance, we realised, meant that the insects are no longer there, flying into our windscreens when driving. They’re gone. We’re losing nature in huge swathes and not realising it. The loss of bees is another one. I’ve barely seen a single bee in my garden this year. They used to cover all our shrubs and flowers. Where have they gone?

My hope is that the works of Macfarlane and Morris, amongst many others also trying to conserve our wildlife, will inspire new generations of children to love nature and want to keep the magic alive in their hearts. It starts by not forgetting the words, not letting them go. There’s more than that we need to do, of course, but if we forget the words, the thing ceases to exist – not just in our minds, but in reality too.

My Verdict:

Social Entrepreneur, educationalist, bestselling author and journalist, D K Powell is the author of the bestselling collection of literary short stories “The Old Man on the Beach“. His first book, ‘Sonali’ is a photo-memoir journal of life in Bangladesh and has been highly praised by the Bangladeshi diaspora worldwide. Students learning the Bengali language have also valued the English/Bengali translations on every page. His third book is ‘Try not to Laugh’ and is a guide to memorising, revising and passing exams for students.

Both ‘The Old Man on the Beach’ and ‘Sonali’ are available on Amazon for kindle and paperback. Published by Shopno Sriti Media. The novel,’The Pukur’, was published by Histria Books in 2022.

D K Powell is available to speak at events (see his TEDx talk here) and can be contacted at dkpowell.contact@gmail.com. Alternatively, he is available for one-to-one mentoring and runs a course on the psychology of writing. Listen to his life story in interview with the BBC here.

Ken writes for a number of publications around the world. Past reviewer for Paste magazine, The Doughnut, E2D and United Airways and Lancashire Life magazine. Currently reviews for Northern Arts Review. His reviews have been read more than 7.9 million times.

Get a free trial and 20% off Shortform by clicking here. Shortform is a brilliant tool and comes with my highest recommendation.

Social Entrepreneur, educationalist, bestselling author and journalist, D K Powell is the author of the bestselling collection of literary short stories “The Old Man on the Beach“. His first book, ‘Sonali’ is a photo-memoir journal of life in Bangladesh and has been highly praised by the Bangladeshi diaspora worldwide. Students learning the Bengali language have also valued the English/Bengali translations on every page. His third book is ‘Try not to Laugh’ and is a guide to memorising, revising and passing exams for students.

Both ‘The Old Man on the Beach’ and ‘Sonali’ are available on Amazon for kindle and paperback. Published by Shopno Sriti Media. The novel,’The Pukur’, was published by Histria Books in 2022.

D K Powell is available to speak at events (see his TEDx talk here) and can be contacted at dkpowell.contact@gmail.com. Alternatively, he is available for one-to-one mentoring and runs a course on the psychology of writing. Listen to his life story in interview with the BBC here.

Ken writes for a number of publications around the world. Past reviewer for Paste magazine, The Doughnut, E2D and United Airways and Lancashire Life magazine. Currently reviews for Northern Arts Review. His reviews have been read more than 7.9 million times.

Get a free trial and 20% off Shortform by clicking here. Shortform is a brilliant tool and comes with my highest recommendation.