Granta 153: Second Nature

Granta: The Magazine of New Writing #153

by Isabella Tree (Editor)

'Never has there been a greater need for writers who can communicate about the environment in such clear, immediate and powerful ways, who can envisage the past as well as the future. The knowledge is already out there. We just have to listen. The contributors to this issue all have a deep understanding of how nature works. Some are scientists; others, environmental journalists exploring the latest thinking about ecosystems and how to repair them; or poets, novelists and activists examining our responses to the current crisis. These stories will, I hope, be both enlightening and empowering, galvanising us to bring about change.' Isabella Tree, guest-editor Patrick Barkham Tim Flannery Cal Flyn Jessie Greengrass Caoilinn Hughes Amy Leach Dino J. Martins Rod Mason Charles Massy Rebecca Priestley Callum Roberts Judith D. Schwartz Samanth Subramanian Ken Thompson Manari Ushigua Sheila Watt-Cloutier Adam Weymouth Xavi Bou, introduced by Tim Dee, and Merlin Sheldrake Nate Duke and John Kinsella

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Short Stories, Environment, Poetry, Anthologies, Essays

288 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Paul Dembina · Rating 4 out of 5]

An important and informative issue of Granta focusing on the threats from climate change.
The time lapse photos of bird flight paths by Xavi Bou are beautiful and at least a couple of the articles challenge current attitudes to managed forests and handling of "alien" species

[Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Because of my own personal interests, this has to go down as the most interesting edition of Granta magazine that I have read. It is guest-edited by Isabella Tree, author of the book “Wilding” which describes her experiences as she and her husband let nature take over on their estate at Knepp in the UK. Here, as editor, she has collected together a series of articles that often link to that theme and present us with a fascinating view of nature, the challenges of conservation and some of fascinating science that is being developed which is gradually helping us (mankind in general) understand our world at a deeper level.

There are some key themes that develop during the course of this magazine. The interconnectedness of nature is one and this has been something that has captured my interest for a long time now. A second theme is that of indigenous communities who live more closely connected to nature and have a lot to teach us. And a third theme is simply the staggering complexity and beauty of the natural world.

Perhaps the article that most challenged my own thinking in this issue is the one that discusses our attitude to what we refer to as “invasive species”. I know I have been a bit too quick to jump to conclusions in this area. My often quoted mantra (as a UK resident) that “the only good grey squirrel is a dead grey squirrel” is quickly revealed as a simplistic view when you consider that human activity that has virtually wiped out the pine marten which, left to its own devices might well have controlled the population of grey squirrels, despite the fact that grey squirrels are not natural inhabitants of the British Isles.

The article about “symbiotic rootscapes” contains the astonishing statement that "Globally, the total length of mycorrhizal mycelium in the top ten centimetres of soil is around half the width of our galaxy." This is what is commonly referred to as the “wood wide web” of connections between trees which is one of those things where the more you learn about it the more staggering it becomes.

If nature interests you or if you want to get a feel for why some people commit themselves to conservation projects, then this issue of Granta is well worth a few hours of your time.

[Chris]

Every essay in this volume was inspiring, informative, and hope-instilling.
The guest editor, Isabella Tree, writes, “These stories will, I hope, be both enlightening and empowering, galvanizing us to bring about change.”
If there was a volume to do that, this might be it.
Fascinating to read about our diminished expectations, when, 200 years ago, trawlers—with the technology of the day!— could catch 5 times the fish contemporary trawlers with their contemporary tech, catch today.
So many stories of rewilding, restoring, returning to ancient ways of farming that supported land and animals and earth and weather. The Whole is presented here, inseparable from its parts.
Interesting to read Ken Thompson’s piece on “alien” species and Patrick Barkham’s The Possibility of an Emperor, and then, soon after, to read Sheila Watt-Cloutier’s piece on climate change in Nunavut, The change comes, what does it bring? What does it take? How long does it stay? What does it leave?

[Yuri Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unusual Granta in that the content, rather than from the usual literary types, is mostly written by scientists, ecologists and other students and practitioners of environmental change. The guest editor, Isabella Tree, has taken her brief seriously and kept the focus on the natural world throughout. There are some excellent essays by people of whom you may not have otherwise heard – including several indigenous voices. There is, too, space given to people who think outside the square; and some of their opinions may surprise you.

[Olga Kolesnikova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all the issues I've read this one is my favourite. Granta is, in my experience, very hit and miss but this one was all hits. This might well be down to the fact that most of the pieces are non fiction so subjective taste plays a lesser role.
This is also the issue I have actually learned the most from, and that has challenged my view on many issues (rewilding, native vs "alien" species, and much more).
If you are genuinely interested in this planet and the environment you will enjoy this issue... It has surprised me in many different ways, from teaching me about species and systems in the natural world I previously had no idea about to offering indigenous viewpoints and fascinating looks into the past.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was nice to read a consistently good issue of Granta again. There were two pieces I gave up on, one where the author seemed to be listing out accomplishments on her CV rather than writing about the science, but most of the nonfiction imparted so much about the complexity of nature along with the message that yes, we are ******. I am now obsessed with vultures, whose near extinction seems like the ultimate tragedy of the unpopular kid. Too many to mention, but Merlin Sheldrake's essay about fungi and Ken Thompson's "Aliens and Us" were favorites, as was Adam Weymouth's "Survivors." If you want to feel doomed and wowed by the state of nature, I can't recommend this highly enough.

[Richard Seltzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I subscribe to Granta for its fiction. Hence I was surprised that this issue (Second Nature) has no fiction at all. Rather it consists of essays by uniquely qualified and articulate climate-change gurus covering unexpected topics in unexpected ways, from all over the world.

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a collection of environmental pieces, which are almost all completely hopeless. Some are interesting from a cultural or historical perspective, but every time I dipped into this issue I was left feeling so bleak that I could barely finish it. There are exceptions of course, stories of rewilding in particular (Tree's expertise, for sure), but most are just stories of destruction, decline, and misery. Whew, thank goodness I'm done with that issue, looking forward to the next.

[Nat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good collection of essays authored by people from all corners of the world. It was compelling learning of their cultures and their worldviews. As an animal lover, I also found that I have been lacking relevant information about certain species and it was interesting filling that gap. Some of the pieces were longer than they needed to be in my opinion, or too scientific to maintain interest, but they certainly made up for it with the information provided.

I shall not discuss the contents of each piece:

Roberts writes about very real issues in our world. Frankly, as a nature lover, I spent my time reading his piece in sadness over what we are turning our world into. I think the way he was writing was very impactful, and I liked seeing his personal experience in the piece.

The essay by Massy was very educational on the topic of soil erosion. It made me realise just how much I was unfamiliar with the topic, and I would really like to change this. I loved the way the essay was separated into smaller sections, which made it easier to both read and comprehend.

Mason’s piece was very touching to me. He speaks of the past in such a profound way that he even made me nostalgic about that Country of his ancestors even though I have never even visited Australia. It was very upsetting to learn of the issues his people have and are encountering.

Kinsella’s idea of writing in poetry was so novel compared to the rest of the essays we read. I really liked how it felt like a conversation between the Garden and the Gardener. Unfortunately, I am unsure if I absorbed all the messages, I was supposed to but I liked the rhythm.

I really liked the topic of Sheldrake’s essay. I find both mycology and symbiosis to be deeply fascinating and the way he talked about them only spiked my interest further. He really made the topic more accessible to readers.

It was so interesting exploring the Joya del Hielo through Schwartz’s eyes as she was learning about it from different people who specialised in it. The flora and fauna were beautifully described. I enjoyed the way in which she brought up relevant environmental issues and the possible ways to tackle them.

Weymouth’s piece had such a strong beginning with the fun facts—he immediately caught my attention! It also served as a very good introduction for what is later discussed in his work. His writing style is engaging, and I found myself invested in what he had to say even beyond my already existing interest in animal life.

I found interesting the way that Hughes writes her dialogue in italics rather than quotation marks due to the implication that it can also be just inner thoughts of sorts. At the same time, however, it made reading the text a little bit harder as I feel it fails to give the satisfaction of reading a dialogue. The last few sentences were nice.

Martins has a way with words when he is writing descriptions—they are so vivid and entrancing. It made for a very good contrast when he started talking about the issues in Africa. I really like how he capitalised all the first letters in these sentences, it gave them the needed accent he intended: “We Absolutely Needed To Know To Survive. Colour Matters. Shapes Matter. Scent Matters.”

I really liked the way that Ushigua was talking about his spiritual experiences! His story was very moving to me. The constant mentions of family, nature and connections were what made it work so well in my opinion.

It was lovely reading Subramanian’s piece about vultures as I feel they are often very misunderstood animals. I enjoyed the way the evolution of the vultures was discussed and finding out new facts about the birds presented in the entertaining writing style. At the same time, I was very saddened to learn of all the issues they have been facing, especially in recent years due to diclofenac and other human-made things.

I really liked the way Leach was writing. The prose was very entertaining and flowing seamlessly into the next paragraph despite the new focus it brought. It was rather optimistic in my view although some of the topics brought up were sad.

Bou’s piece was such a good ode to the beauty of bird flight. The line “Icarus would have pored over these photos and have learned from them” rings so well to me as a Greek mythology nerd. I really enjoyed his writing and the combination of science and art references.

As it happens, “that universal anti-hero, folkloric villain, sharp-toothed grandmother with a glint in her eye” is also my favourite animal so you can imagine my delight at the topic of Flyn’s essay. I really liked the fairy tale references in the essay as I also believe the image of the wolf is shaped around it a lot. The repetition of “I find that I can” was very good for the prose.

Priestly wrote on very important topic with an extremely empathetic writing style. Sure, sometimes her writing was more scientific but it was well-balanced with the rest of the text. The last sentence tied very well to the start of the essay, making it a full circle.

I really enjoyed Flannery’s writing about Australia’s megafauna. It was very easy to understand his passion and get excited myself. His writing was engaging and I found that I was paying way more attention to him than the previous writers due to the way he presented the information.

Duke created a very interesting poem on a good topic. I do think, however, that if the sentences were started on a new line, it would have had a better structure and flow. I do like how similar the lines are in length though.

Barkham’s piece about the purple emperor was quite interesting and genuinely concerning. I was especially amazed by the way he was writing about the deforestations issue. The conclusion to the essay was very well-done.

I have to start by noting how good the title of Thompson’s piece was—it really set the tone for the whole work and I liked that it can be interpreted in more than one way! It was entertaining reading about alien species and how nuanced their effect can be on the environment. Thompson had a very entertaining writing style.

I liked that Greengrass included more dialogue in comparison to the other authors, as well as gave her story a more “fictional” feel. I also found the formatting of the dialogue very refreshing with the em-dashes, though also familiar as that’s how it is done in my native tongue, Bulgarian. I was not a fan of the way when there was no dialogue, but exposition, the paragraphs just felt eternally long. It could have been separated in two paragraphs most of the time to avoid the length.

Watt-Cloutier described the culture of the Inuit people in such a compelling way. I think the way the traditions and the current situation of the Arctic were beyond interesting for someone who has lived in the Balkans his whole life. The piece also felt very suitable to conclude the magazine especially with its final words.

[Neil Kenealy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second Nature is well named because all the stories are about reviving nature rather than getting depressed about its loss. Isabella Tree is the editor and she and her husband embarked on a rewilding project in West Sussex twenty years ago. Her solution to not getting depressed about it was to do something about it. This shines through in all the pieces in this edition of Granta.

Flowers fungi trees water, animals, humans are all the constituents of nature examined and how humans have interacted with them. So much of climate change discussion is geopolitical but there is only local politics mentioned. The focus is on the resilience of nature itself.

Here's a summary of each piece:

Shifting Baselines shows how human attitudes to nature has changed. There were so many fish in the sea, you catch as much in a day with an old trawler as you can catch in a month today with the best tech.

The second essay by Charles Massy who is a sheep farmer in Australia who owns 20,000 acres and how he changed his farming to be more sustainable. Then you get it from the Native Australian side from a man who can remember when white men invaded even the name of the constable who supplied the shells to the white farmers who carried out land clearances with violence.

John Kinsella has a poem which is a dialogue between a garden and a gardener.

Photo essay from Merlin Sheldrake who is the rising star of fungi research. Using a special technique to look inside the ecosystems gives a visual X-ray of how fungi are the wood wide web.

Water is Never Lonely is a tour of the Mexican rainforest and Spanish east coast deforestation with an explanation of the effects in hydrology.

Adam Weymouth survivors is a story of salmon as part of a big ecosystem that has been declining for centuries. This essay's focus on people who are making a living from salmon shows that there's a continuous process going on for generations.

Caoilinn Hughes Creep is a story about a skiing encounter at a conference in Andorra. It's a brilliantly told piece of fiction.

Secret Lives of Flowers is about the pollination dance between moths and flowers in Kenya told by a local biologist.

Of the forest. Story of man from the Sanara nation in Ecuador whose population has gone from 200,000 to 535 in the last 120 years. Numbers tell the story.

Vultures is an essay about how vultures in India are such a unique species and are being poisoned by drugs given to cattle. It tells how that was discovered and how it's being fixed.

Wolf at the door by  Cal Flynn is about the wolf as an apex predator. Humans are the ultimate apex predator so wolves are always interesting to us. It costs a fortune for an estate in Scotland to cull the deer as the wolf does. So re-introduction of wolves there would save an overgrazed landscape. There is a plaque to the last wolf killed in Scotland a few hundred years ago. The Irish Green party leader was recently denigrated in Ireland for daring to suggest reintroducing wolves to Ireland. So wolves are an emotional issue - Little Red Riding Hood has a lot to answer for.

Tim Flannery's The Dragon's Den is about the re-introduction of the Komodo dragon to Australia. He's written many books on ecology and climate change, especially about Australia. Very interesting because Australia is like the canary in the coal mine for the world. The ecological change in the past 200 years since Europeans arrived can be easily measured.

The Possibility of an Emperor by Patrick Barkham is about regenerating a forest in Norfolk. This is much closer to home.

There's an extract from Jessie Greengrass's forthcoming novel, 'The High House', a dystopian novel following climate change. It's a story where the need to move house to higher ground is taken as normal like the flight to the suburbs in the last hundred years.

There are three stories from leaders of human nations who have been almost wiped out by European invasions. They are in Australia, Ecuador, and the Artic. These people have lived in harmony with nature for a long time so they have a lot to tell us. But bigger stronger societies tend to wipe them out in the name of progress.

[simon crossley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Granta has drifted over the past few issues to this one so it was a welcome return to form.

This issue was a sideways step from the usual publication with a theme in that it had a guest editor – Isabella Tree – and that every contribution stuck firmly to that theme (again, a departure from the standard format). As a result of this the contributions are very tightly defined.

The theme for issue 153 is Second Nature: the environment and climate change crisis. There is a smattering of too much science in some of the contributions and Rebecca Priestly in Prepare to be Kind struggles to go beyond a diary of life under lockdown. And the fictional extracts – Jessie Greengrass and Caolinn Hughes came across as there because fiction was needed.

Some of the challenges covered are typical ones such as disappearing coral in Shifting Baselines. Callum Roberts brings depth and intimate experience to how coral is suffering.

Indigenous populations are given their own voice with Sheila Watt- Cloutier on Inuits in Canada (an illuminating story of colonial misrule) and Rod Mason of Ngarigo people in Australia, and the Sapara nation in the Amazon rainforest with Manari Ushigua – all educational about the relationship of humans within nature and the land.

Adam Weavers’ account of salmon and fishing industires in the UK West Country and Ireland is a slight story which documents how traditional industries are dying out. A grim message that runs throughout the edition. I enjoyed Tim Flannery’s Dragon’s if only because I have love of the creatures.

A welcome surprise for me was the contributions on vultures by Samanth Subramanian – turned on its heads my understanding of vultures and their relationship to religion, ad wolves by Cal Flyn – a sympathetic account of their important relationship to the wild.

[Kaltmamsell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Granta-Ausgaben zum Thema Natur und Umwelt gibt es immer mal wieder, und bald war mir aufgefallen, dass sie mich eigentlich immer langweilten – obwohl mich das Thema doch überdurchschnittlich interessiert. Diesmal versuchte ich herauszufinden, woran das wohl lag. Ich vermute einen Grund darin, dass sie fast ausschließlich Sachtexte enthalten (auch diesmal mit nur einer Ausnahme) und ich Granta, „The Magazine of New Writing“, doch wegen des writing mag, und zwar fiktionalem. Diese Ausgabe enthielt zudem eigenartige Texte, die ich für völlig fehlplatziert hielt, z.B. den von Ken Thompson, „Aliens and Us“: Das Thema „invasive Arten“ finde ich eigentlich spannend, doch sein Artikel war offensichtlich die Reaktion auf eine aktuelle Fachdebatte, die ich nicht kenne und in der er von Kolleginnen und Kollegen in der Biologie dafür angegriffen wird, dass er den Mechanismus nicht grundsätzlich negativ einordnet. Bereichert habem mich allerdings: Rod Mason über die Jahrhunderte, die er und seine Vorfahren in Australien lebten und welche Auswirkung das Eindringen von Europäern hatte; Sheila Watt-Cloutier, eine Inuit, über das traditionelle Leben ihrer Community und wie es sich durch die Zwangsmaßnahmen von Weißen und durch den Klimawandel verändert hat.

[Geoffrey Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like any issue of Granta, this one had its high points and more difficult pieces to get through. I found the articles on the Scottish Highlands fascinating. How should the ecosystem be managed? Plant more trees for sure, but should certain species ( i.e. the wolf) be reintroduced? In England and Wales, can salmon return to the Severn River and others? Granta also give voice to indigenous perspectives, including Charles Massy from Australia, and Sheila Watt-Cloutier from Northern Québec. Having visited her hometown of Kuujjuaq on many occasions, and having met Sheila, I was highly impressed by her article and its succinct summary of the Inuit experience in Nunavik. Finally, Ken Thompson’s plea for more civility and open-mindedness in the debate over “alien” vs. “natural” species was instructive, not just on that debate, but more generally in our society!

[Susan Emmet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essential issue of Granta, edited by Isabella Tree.
May seem "dry" to some, but the issues and claims and proof and research are formidable.
Apex predators and what they offer? Substitutions for native/alien life forms? Birds and bees and komodo dragons, butterflies and vultures and types of forests? Gorgeous pictures of Xavi Bou that really reflect the way birds fly and the technique used to capture the movement.
All over the Earth this issue travels - from the British Isles to the Americas to Australia and Antarctica and beyond. The geographical sweep captures the range of concern for life on Earth which has long been steered by human wrecking balls. Water, earth, sky, fire - all are explored.

[Ray Quirolgico · Rating 4 out of 5]

I miss some of the longer photo essays in other Granta issues, but the focus of this issue on the natural world is quite stunning. There is the usual biographical travel storytelling, mixed with some science reporting, and most impressive (to me) is the wisdom and graceful beauty of the essays by indigenous people representing different parts of the world, but still focused on a spiritual sense of connection with time, the planet, and the shared civic responsibility we have for ourselves and all living systems. Also impressive was how quickly this issue must have been pulled together with its references to the COVID-19 pandemic: at a time when there is so much isolation, the messages of connecting in this issue were quite hopeful.

[Mark Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Worthy, and mind-numbingly dull. Its what happens to a literary periodical when it tries to push a political message. For make no mistake, this is not an issue simply about environmental change, its implications and what we can do to address it, it is also about how capitalism, economic development and even populism are to blame. This is environmentalism of the Extinction Rebellion variety - doom-laden, apocalyptic. Devoting a whole issue to this is like being trapped in a lift with Emma Thompson - fascinating for the first few minutes.

[Charliecat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some excellent writing in this edition, which explores how human action is destroying and subverting the complex and wonderful natural systems which underpin our lives on this planet.

The extract from Jessie Greengrass's forthcoming novel, 'The High House', is outstanding. If you ever wondered what Global Heating is going to do to ordinary people like you and me, this will be the novel to go to.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Without doubt the most interesting and absorbing edition of the five read so far, despite me not being especially eager to read of, or excited by, the natural world. Australia and the Inuit, wolves and woods, butterflies and tidal overwhelming, all made interesting by the enthusiasm and clarity of their individual authors. Merits taking off the shelf and re-reading.

[Johan Sanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informatief nummer rond climate change. De stukken van Charles Massy, Ken Thompson, Jessie Greengrass en Sheila Watt-Cloutier konden me bekoren.
Ik kijk uit naar het nieuwe boek "The high House" van Jessie Greengrass dat uitkomt in april!

[Veronica Liew · Rating 5 out of 5]

An often powerful collection of mostly non fiction essays on the topic of climate change and the impact on all levels and branches of ecology. What a vast learning experience also of the wisdom of indigenous peoples.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting and informative look at nature and climate change, published during the beginning of the pandemic. Personally, the articles on regenerative farming, Scottish salmon, Amazon protectors, vultures, wolf recovery, Australian megafauna, 'alien' species, and Québec Inuit were my favourites. There is also a beautiful photo essay on bird flight.

[Fredrik Österberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too long and filled with too many similar stories. By cutting it down you could easily get it up to 4/5. Generally creative nonfiction stories about climate change, or essays, most of them well written

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Corals & agriculture & water & vultures & predicted moths

[Gavin McMinn · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5