Notes from Walnut Tree Farm

Description

An essential collection of the best and most beautiful of Roger Deakin's unpublished writing When Roger Deakin died in August 2006, his death was considered by many to be a great loss to literature. Notes From Walnut Tree Farm collects together the jottings, musings and observations with which he filled a series of notebooks for the last six years of his life. In this beautiful illustrated collection, descriptions of walks on Mellis Common and thoughts on the importance of nature sit side by side with memories of the past and musings about literature, while perfectly rendered observations of the tiny, missable visual details of everyday life are skilfully woven with a gentle, wise philosophy. Organised into twelve months of impressions, the notes reveal a passionate but gentle character and his extraordinary, restless curiosity. Capturing Deakin's unique turn of phrase and inspired use of language, and infused throughout with the magically meditative tranquillity of Walnut Tree Farm, this is a charming introduction to one of the most important of modern nature writers, or the perfect follow-up to Wildwood and Waterlog.

A filmmaker and writer with a particular interest in nature and the environment, Roger Deakin was the author of the highly acclaimed Waterlog and Wildwood. He lived in Suffolk, and died there in August 2006, aged 63.

'Superb. Totally fresh and vivid' - Chris Yates 'Deakin's account sings, as unruly and robust as the world he bore witness to ... Deakin's greatest gift is to make the ecologically minded life a matter of gleeful fun' Observer 'If anything this book is superior to Deakin's previous book Wildwood, which is saying something, since that was marvellous. The diary form works beautifully ... In just a few words, Deakin can delight and inspire in equal measure' - Tom Hodgkinson