Arboreal — A Collection of New Woodland Writing

Arboreal (Little Toller) is a collection of new writing from woodlands across the British Isles, edited by Adrian Cooper and bursting with nature writers that we’re lucky enough to be living at the same time as their pens are scribing, such as Kathleen Jamie, Jackie Kay, Philip Hoare and, as featured today, Ali Smith.

The Green Stuff is everything we love about Ali Smith — it’s like walking into one of those dreams that feels completely normal until you wake up, think back and realise everything was underwater. It takes an everyday situation and twists it up in knots, putting things where they shouldn’t be, just enough to unsettle but not enough to deny it as fact.

You can listen to Ali Smith read the whole story to you online here!

This abundant collection of writing is special in itself, but even more so because it was one of the first books donated The Nature Library. We’re eternally grateful for every book donated, it really makes the library what it is — this isn’t just us putting our favourite books on a shelf anymore, every new book and the person who shared it becomes a part of this project. We don’t want to use too many obvious metaphors here but you know, trees… things taking root, intertwining, branching out… you get the idea.

The royalties from sales of the book are donated to the charity Common Ground, a charity linking nature and culture, believing that community involvement and local celebration are the best starting points for improving the relationship between people and the natural world.