Anthology
Moving Mountains: writing nature through illness and disability is available now - you can order from your library, local independent bookseller and online, link to publisher here.
‘An anthology to treasure and return to’ ELINOR CLEGHORN
‘Uniquely compelling, dynamic and powerful’ LUCY JONES
‘Deeply affecting’ TOM SHAKESPEARE
‘Promises to change the landscape of nature writing’ LIZZIE HUXLEY-JONES
A first-of-its-kind anthology of nature writing by authors living with chronic illness and physical disability
WITH A FOREWORD BY SAMANTHA WALTON
Through twenty-five pieces, the writers of Moving Mountains offer a vision of nature that encompasses the close up, the microscopic, and the vast.
From a single falling raindrop to the enormity of the north wind, this is nature experienced wholly and acutely, written from the perspective of disabled and chronically ill authors.
Moving Mountains is not about overcoming or conquering, but about living with and connecting, shifting the reader’s attention to the things easily overlooked by those who move through the world untroubled by the body that carries them.
Contributors: Isobel Anderson, Kerri Andrews, Polly Atkin, Khairani Barokka, Victoria Bennett, Feline Charpentier, Cat Chong, Eli Clare, Dawn Cole, Lorna Crabbe, Kate Davis, Carol Donaldson, Alec Finlay, Jamie Hale, Jane Hartshorn, Hannah Hodgson, Sally Huband, Rowan Jaines, Dillon Jaxx, Louise Kenward, Abi Palmer, Louisa Adjoa Parker, Alice Tarbuck, Nic Wilson
‘Bringing together startlingly original voices, Moving Mountains invites us not only to look at nature, but to live alongside it in community and collaboration. Privileging the experiences, perceptions, and perspectives of disabled and chronically ill writers and poets, this anthology is both an urgent call for justice, and an endlessly moving exploration of what it means to be human. Compelling, challenging, contemplative and curious, Moving Mountains is an anthology to treasure and return to‘ – Elinor Cleghorn, author of UNWELL WOMEN
‘Moving Mountains is a rich gift of much-needed stories and cosmologies that help us see the earth, our world and interdependence, and our ideas of “nature” and the “natural” with greater clarity. I found each of the narratives uniquely compelling, dynamic and powerful. Beautifully curated and edited with a moving introduction by Louise Kenward, Moving Mountains is a generative and profound anthology that I know I will return to – and it will help us untangle ourselves from many of the modern myths which separate and sever’ – Lucy Jones, author of LOSING EDEN and MATRESCENCE
‘Personal involvements with nature are exposed in this deeply affecting collection, which will stay with you’ – Tom Shakespeare
‘Some of my favourite writers and artists are collected here. Together they present a strong argument for the expansion of nature writing into the realm of illness and disability – whether from bed, chair, balcony or close neighbourhood. What if your illness and/or disability – or for that matter ableism and lack of access – restricts your capacity to “immerse” yourself in nature? What can experiencing nature through an unsteady, uneven body reveal? In Eli Clare’s words, a world that “relishes crookedness, wholeness and brokenness”‘ – Alice Hattrick, author of ILL FEELINGS
‘An important, vital, questing collection of words, stories and experiences of wild green space which asks what it means to lose oneself in nature and explores how acquaintance with living landscapes both urban and rural can earth, galvanise and inspire. An anthology to open eyes, minds and hearts, I loved it‘ – Dan Richards, author of HOLLOWAY and OUTPOST
‘A stunning anthology that promises to change the landscape of nature writing. Challenging who gets to write about nature, Moving Mountains is an ambitious, beautiful collection of work’ – Lizzie Huxley-Jones, author and editor of STIM
‘Moving Mountains is a stunning book that captures the experience of living with a disability or chronic illness. Through the beautifully described narratives I felt seen, known and far less alone. Moving Mountains raises the voices of disabled authors but it offers insights to everyone, because illness impacts us all’ – Claire Wade, author of The Choice
‘This is a beautiful collection of stories & poems by a variety of authors. The authors will feel like they are old friends sharing their deepest thoughts with you. As someone living with chronic illness, it was comforting and validating to be heard through these stories too’ – Jeannie Di Bon, Hypermobility Movement Therapist
‘Nature might not heal disabled bodies, but it does connect and soothe. Just like this beautiful, raw book did for me’ – Rachel Charlton-Dailey
‘Nature and pain have always been caught up together; in this lively anthology, nature and pain shine light on one another and both come out transformed‘ – Noreen Masud, author of A FLAT PLACE
‘This polyphonic exploration of bodies, minds and the natural world brings together fascinatingly diverse writing to create something magical. A collection that fuses fierce strength with lyricism, vulnerability with exciting prose, it’s a moving testament to resilience and hope, and to celebrating joy wherever we can find it’ – Lulah Ellender, author of GROUNDING
About the Author
Louise Kenward is a writer, artist and psychologist. Her writing has featured in Women on Nature, The Polyphony, The Clearing and Radio 3 (Landscapes of Recovery). In 2020, she set up ZebraPsych with the aim of raising awareness of energy limiting chronic illness, and she co-produced the anthology Disturbing the Body (Boudicca). Louise was Writer in Residence with Sussex Wildlife Trust (2021-2022) and is a postgraduate researcher at the Centre for Place Writing, Manchester Metropolitan University.