New Writing North

In The Mara Crossing, poet Ruth Padel explores in poetry and prose the theme of home and what being native means, as our borders shift and human and animal migration moves across the globe. Where is a swallow’s real home? And what does it mean to be native if an English oak tree is an immigrant from Spain? In Strands, poet Jean Sprackland takes us on a meditative walk along the wild estuarial beaches of Ainsdale Sands between Blackpool and Liverpool. In this beachcomber’s book, the tides constantly turn up revelations: mermaid’s purses, lugworms, sea potatoes, messages in bottles, buried cars, beached whales, a perfect cup from a Cunard liner. Chaired by Caroline Beck. Recorded on Saturday 27 October 2012 at Durham Book Festival. For more information about the festival, see www.durhambookfestival.com.