My writing has been mainly concerned with the ties between nature, literature and the environment. I find myself frequently entranced with exploring the distant past. For my book Ancient Wonderings, I travelled across Britain in order to understand something of prehistoric ways of life in these islands. From South Uist in the Western Isles of Scotland to the Brecklands of East Anglia, I walked the lands in order to dig deep into what we know of the ancient past.
My latest book Grounded took me on a journey through England, considering the private markers in the landscape which are sacred to individuals and which connect us to the people from our past.
Teaching
I am fortunate that my work as a lecturer at the University of Essex includes running the MA in Wild Writing which includes taking field trips out into spaces beyond the classroom in order to better appreciate aspects of the natural world and the landscapes and literatures of specific sites. I have taken many workshops and walks to encourage writing on nature and landscape and spoken at many festivals and conferences.
Recent courses:
The New Nature Writing (LT904)
Memory Maps: Practices in Psychogeography (LT909)
Contemporary Texts and Contexts (LT109)
Creative Non-Fiction (LT245)
Criticism: Practice and Theory (LT204)
Writing Structures (LT209)
Work-based Learning in the Arts and Humanities (LT257)
Independent Creative Writing Project (LT832)
Creative Writing Workshop (LT911)
Research for Creative Practice (LT905)
Wild Writing Work-Based Placement (LT975)
Dissertation – Wild Writing (LT988)