John Lister-Kaye is one of Scotland’s best-known naturalists and conservationists. He has lectured widely on wildlife and the environment, and in 1976 he founded the Aigas Field Centre, which provides wildlife courses for school children and adults. John is the author of eight books, including Song of the Rolling Earth and Nature's Child. Here, he talks about his latest book, At the Water's Edge, and shares some writing tips and reading recommendations.
Can you tell us about your latest book, 'At The Water’s Edge'?
The book is a personal perambulation of thoughts and encounters arising from my regular walk of about one-and-a-half miles round a loch near my home.
As a writer, what are the benefits of getting to know a place well over a long period of time?
What happens over a period of time is that you become familiar with the place and it becomes familiar with you; it slowly imposes itself upon your subconscious so that it actually changes you in many subtle ways.
What do you think makes for good nature writing?
Taking the reader with you into an experience; sharing that place and encounter at a personal level so that others can share it too.
Do you take a notepad with you when you walk, to jot down thoughts and impressions, or do you wait until you’re back home to write?
I always carry a field notebook, but I also write entries in a journal when I get home – as long as they are worth recording.
What three writing tips would you give to Bookbite readers?
1. Be true to the experience; never embellish it or make it up.
2. Write it down straight away so that it remains crisp and fresh.
3. Read it aloud to yourself. If it reads well out loud it will read well silently.
You live in the Scottish Highlands. Do you think it’s possible to write about nature in more urban areas?
Yes, of course. You can write about the spider in your bath or the tendrils of the creeper on your wall. Nature writing doesn’t have to be tigers and polar bears!
Which three books have had the biggest influence on your life, and why?
1. The Peregrine by J.A. Baker. An outstanding piece of nature writing closer to poetry than to straight prose.
2. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard. A genre-forming work that took nature writing to a new level. Pulitzer-prize winner when she was only 26.
3. Beautiful Swimmers by William W. Warner. A book about blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay.
All three books are top-rank examples of nature writing, but all entirely different. Baker wrote a plotless prose poem about becoming a peregrine falcon inside his head. Dillard posed philosophical questions about the nature she found around her all the time. And Warner quite beautifully expounds the hard natural history of the blue crab in an upliftingly intimate way. Their influence is with me all the time; impossible to escape.
Can you recommend a favourite recent read?
Richard Mabey’s Nature Cure.
Nature writing has experienced a surge of popularity in recent years. Why do you think this might be?
I think it has simply crossed the pond. It was going strong in the USA throughout the 20th century, but fizzled out here with one or two exceptions. It has come home and is now regaining its place in English literature. I also think that nature TV has got people really interested in wildlife.
Finally, now that Spring is well and truly with us, could you tell us what signs of Spring you’ve been enjoying seeing on your daily walk?
Birth. The season of birth is always exciting, whether it is frogs or newts, woodland birds or the roe deer, red squirrels and pine martens around my home. It is not just a spiritual renewal, it is the reassurance that trees leaf up again, wild flowers emerge and the whole cycle of renewal kicks off again with each new generation. I always get a huge kick from seeing the first badger cubs of the year, when they first appear above ground. That to me is a very special moment...
