On Presence: Essays / Drawings
by Peter Reason and Sarah Gillespie
The danger of having a fairly extensive TBR like mine (ahem!) is that those volumes enthusiastically ordered eventually come into the house, disappear into the stacks and can so easily get overlooked. This is why I’m finding it particularly useful to have regular reshuffles of the piles – it does reveal some marvellous treasures! A case in point is this slim work which I sent off for after reading an enthusiastic review on Annabel’s site here – I do love a good essay…
Peter Reason is actually a fellow reviewer for Shiny New Books, and he’s covered a number of interesting works; so it may be worth your checking him out there too, once Annabel has everything up and running again. “On Presence” is a 30 page, limited edition, book of words and images which makes thoughtful, contemplative reading, and it certainly lived up to my expectations.
Reason and Gillespie are uncle and neice, and “On Presence” contains words from the elder set against beautiful illustrations from the younger. Both formats address the natural world, the home we human beings seem dead set on destroying; and Gillespie’s illustrations, worked in monochrome, bring that world to life but with a changed perspective. So Reason meditates on his orchard; an abandoned birds nest; and the differing silences we can experience whilst out in the world. The two artists discuss their work processes and point of art in our modern times; and as a short note at the back says, this is a continuation in printed form of many discussions they’ve had over the years.
“On Prescence” is a wonderful initiative; hopefully one of many more to follow. The essays are beautifully written and very evocative, particularly when set against Gillespie’s art. Reason writes simply yet eloquently about the natural world, and I see he’s written books about ecological pilgrimages he’s made, which sound fascinating. This work had a particular resonance at the moment, reading it as I did in the middle of our necessary isolation which for many of us is meaning we lose direct contact with the natural world. As humans who are part of a living nature, we need to remember our connections while all this is going on.
It is the stories we tell ourselves, the metaphors we draw on, that create our world. The mess we are in reflects the stories that have dominated Western culture: stories of human supremacy, stories that separate humans from Nature, but emphasize economic growth at the expense of human and ecological wellbeing.
So this was a timely work to pull out of the tbr at the moment, and reading it did bring a little comfort. I do hope going forward we foolish humans will learn to acknowledge just how much a part of the world and its nature we are, something we seem to have forgotten recently. Though slim, “On Presence” *has* a presence and an impact, and I hope more of the joint work of Peter Reason and Sarah Gillespie will see the light of day.
Peter’s website is here
Sarah’s artwork can be found on her site here
May 14, 2020 @ 08:07:04
One positive result of the present situation is that I feel my long daily country walks are connecting me again with nature. These essays and images sound like they convey the importance of this connection. Rural psychogeography!
May 14, 2020 @ 10:16:57
They do. It’s all too easy to lose touch with the natural world and it’s to our detriment if we do, I think. This was a lovely reminder of that.
May 17, 2020 @ 16:21:07
Aren’t walks the best?! I do not take them for physical exercise, as much as I do the peace they bring.
May 17, 2020 @ 16:31:46
They are. I’m not getting out as much as usual, and I really notice now how I react to the outside world.
May 14, 2020 @ 11:17:00
Sounds lovely. Very meditative. I find it difficult to write about lots of non-fiction without it sounding a bit dry – but you’ve managed to to do it brilliantly here.
May 14, 2020 @ 11:27:15
Thanks Jacqui! I’m the same, particularly when it’s something like this which evokes emotions, so can be hard to pin down. It was a rather lovely read!
May 14, 2020 @ 11:47:07
This sounds lovely! Even in my suburban environment, I make sure I see trees regularly and visit the four or more parks within walking or running distance, as it does bring relief and calm to be among them.
May 14, 2020 @ 11:52:02
It does indeed. I’m most fond of trees myself – we have several pines in the garden and I’m quite attached to them, I got very upset when a neighbour chopped one of theirs down….
May 14, 2020 @ 12:21:49
I agree with some of the comments above. I think I can relate to this more as I spend much more time than I used to looking at my garden – I don’t know if there are many more birds than usual as I think, or if it’s just I’ve never looked properly before!
May 14, 2020 @ 13:11:23
I think we *are* taking the time to look round us more in these current times, Certainly, working at home has made me much more aware of my surroundings and I hadn’t realised quite how lively my garden is (especially since discovering a fox in it the other morning – I don’t know which of us was most alarmed!!)
May 14, 2020 @ 18:27:17
What a lovely sounding piece of work. An uncle and neice working together like this must be quite unique. I think a lot of us are yearning for more connection with the natural world at the moment so I can see this book helping to scratch that itch. I am definitely grateful for my garden and the sound of the birds these days.
May 15, 2020 @ 10:44:29
It’s a beautiful little read. And yes – nature is a comfort. I hadn’t quite realised what a variety we have visiting our garden!
May 15, 2020 @ 08:37:36
I am getting out on some lovely walks with Ollie . Re the shelves…I came home with a wonderful book the other day. When I went to put it on Library Thing inventory I saw I already had it! I got excited all over again. I need to stop losing books on my shelves. Now I have a voucher flr something else as I got an exchange. Just makes me laugh.
May 15, 2020 @ 10:43:49
I bet Ollie gives you the perfect excuse to bond with nature! And shelves… I really should spend a month rationalising my books….
May 16, 2020 @ 19:09:12
This sounds wonderful. I must say, my May project really helps me to tackle my piles. A thousandth of them, that is. I should start some reshuffling too.
May 16, 2020 @ 19:18:52
Definitely. If nothing else, I’ve started pulling a lot more books off the tbr!
May 17, 2020 @ 16:20:11
I think a reorder of my shelves would be appropriate here! I don’t necessarily buy too much, but I accept too much to review, and some of the titles get (temporarily) forgotten.
I especially love this line from your post: “ It is the stories we tell ourselves, the metaphors we draw on, that create our world.” The stories we tell ourselves can make all the difference to our well-being, and thus to those around us. (It is why I determine to stay in the Word, daily, and find so much strength and sustenance from that.)
I admire the uncle and niece collaborating together. I am quite close to my uncle, but we have yet to produce a literary effort of our own. Right now, we just read. He is the one who introduced me to The Wind in The Willows, and The Hobbit, when I was quite young.
May 17, 2020 @ 16:34:00
It definitely pays to root around in the shelves – because my shopping opportunities are restricted to online, I’n not bringing so many books into the house and so ‘shopping’ my shelves for unread books is very rewarding.
The stories I’m telling myself at the moment involve pretty much blanket avoidance of news channels. Books are sustenance, that’s for sure.
And I envy the family collaboration; my family (what remains of it) is very scattered. But like you I was introduced to The Hobbit early by a good family friend – about time I re-read Tolkien!
May 17, 2020 @ 19:26:04
This sounds lovely. I’ve been really heartened by the reports on how nature is recovering while human activity is so restricted – I’m hoping we don’t lose those gains when all this is over. I should reshuffle my book piles too and see what I discover!
May 17, 2020 @ 20:39:07
I know – a good side effect of the horrors has been the effect on nature. I know our local fox has got very bold (we surprised each other in the back garden the other day). My lack of faith in humanity doesn’t let me hold out much hope for change, but I may be wrong.
But yes – reshuffle those piles. It’s amazing what you find! 😀
May 18, 2020 @ 01:47:24
Reshuffling the shelves should be a reader’s sport: it’s amazing how quickly we forget (if not entirely!) the depth of our interest in a book once it’s been allowed to sit for very long, untouched. Also, it’s nice to have a single-sitting read to pull your attention in, hard and fast. Love your photo here, too!
May 18, 2020 @ 08:56:10
It’s a wonderfully enjoyable thing – shopping your own shelves leads to the most marvellous discoveries. I feel the itch to have another rummage. And thank you for the kind words about the photo!