NATURE writer Robert Macfarlane will be talking rivers at a special Stratford Literary Festival event on Friday (March 6).
He will be asking a perspective-shifting question: is a river alive? – the title of his most recent book – at Rother Street Arts House.
He’ll explain the transformative idea that rivers are not mere matter for human use, but precious living things that should be recognised as such in both imagination and law.
It will form part of a global journey into the history, futures, people and places of this ancient, urgent concept. He’ll also talk about how, around the world, rivers are dying from pollution, drought and damming, but that a powerful movement is also underway to recognise the lives and rights of rivers – and to re-animate our relationships with these vast, mysterious presences and landscapes we share.
Robert Macfarlane is best known for his books on landscape, nature, place, people and language, which include The Old Ways, Landmarks, The Lost Words with Jackie Morris, and Underland.
He will be in conversation with Fiona Lindsay. The event is in partnership with the River Hope Project
Visit www.stratfordliteraryfestival.co.uk/events/robert-macfarlane for tickets and further information.
