Grounded: A Journey Through Landscapes, Sanctuaries and Sacred Places

Description

From the author of The Oak Papers, a beautiful meditation on how to foster a profound and healing spiritual communion with the natural world 'Intensely alive to the landscape- its pasts, people andcreatures' -Robert Macfarlane For thousands of years, our ancestors held a close connection withthe landscapes they lived in. They imbued them with meaning- stonemonuments, sacred groves, places of pilgrimage. In our modern worldwe have to a large extent lost that enchantment and intimate knowledgeof place. James Canton takes us on a journey through England seeking to seethrough more ancient eyes, to understand what landscape meant tothose who came before us. We visit stone circles, the West Kennet LongBarrow, a crusader round church and sites of religious visions. We meetthe Dagenham Idol and the intricately carved Lion Man figure. We findartefacts buried in farmers' fields. There is history and meaning encodedinto the lands and places we live in, if only we take the time to look. Our natural world has never been under more threat. If we relocate oursense of wonder, veneration and awe in the landscapes around us, wemight just be better at saving them.

Dr James Canton is Director of Wild Writing at the University of Essex. He is the author of The Oak Papers, Ancient Wonderings- Journeys into Prehistoric Britain and Out of Essex- Re-Imagining a Literary Landscape, which was inspired by his rural wanderings in East Anglia. He has written for The Guardian, reviews for the Times Literary Supplement and is a regular on television and radio. His forthcoming book is Grounded.