If the rocks, caves, lakes, fens, bogs and dens of the land of Britain had a voice, it would sound like Alan Garner telling a story.” - Philip Pullman
Over the summer, one of the things I've done is contribute to a 'kickstarter' style project on a website called 'Unbound', which is aimed at getting books published, and which has now been fully funded, so will be going ahead.This is a very special book, as it is a tribute to the author Alan Garner, co-ordinated by Erica Wagner.
Alan Garner books, both children's fiction such as the Weirdstone of Brisingamen and the Stone Book Quartet, but his more recent books like Strandloper and Thursbitch have been in my life for 40 years, and have a strong connection with landscape, particularly that around Alderley Edge, which I've visited several times.
The anthology quoted from below contains some remarkable stories about Garner's life, and his inspirations:
The purpose of the storyteller is to relate the truth in a manner that is simple: to integrate without reduction; for it is rarely possible to declare the truth as it is, because the Universe presents itself as a Mystery. We have to find parables; we have to tell stories to unriddle the world. ALAN GARNER, The Voice that Thunders (1997)
Looking forward to receiving the book when it's produced.
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