The Seven Fables' Walking Book Club with Katherine May
Midsummer 2023
Enchantment is an invitation to rekindle a sense of awe and wonder, to add a little enchantment into the everyday, and so it was a delight, and only fitting that Katherine May joined our Fable Folk in the woods at Midsummer - a night known for myth, magic and playfulness.
Katherine's writing grants permission to many to slow their pace of life, to seek delight and reassurance in everyday wonders from domestic settings to landscapes revealing unexpected spiritual, playful encounters - simple acts that can readdress frantic lifestyles. She has become adept at finding tranquility and beauty in landscapes that are viewed as edge lands, trapped by tide, river, train line and industrial buildings, Dungeness Beach being a prime example, illustrating that there is no need to climb the highest peak to seek awe.
Seven Fables first met Katherine in Whitstable at her launch for Wintering on a suitably cold, blustery February night. Since then, it has gone on to be an international bestseller, topping the New York Times, Sunday Times and Der Spiegel bestseller lists, and was adapted as BBC Radio 4’s Book of the Week, so it was wonderful that Katherine was able to return to talk about her latest book, Enchantment.
Previously, when she visited, we shared a memorable evening, we even swum at Tarr Seps, this time however it was a gentle stroll through high bracken and dappled light to Oldberry Fort where we shared conversation and a colourful picnic.
While staying in Exmoor, Katherine kindly took the time to sit for Christopher who took just one shot with his scratch built large format camera...
'If we wait passively to become enchanted, we could wait a long time. But seeking is a kind of work, I don’t mean heading off on wild road trips just to see the stars that are shining above your roof. I mean committing to a lifetime of engagement, to noticing the world around you, to actively looking for small distillations of beauty, to making time to contemplate and reflect.'
Signed copies of Enchantment
are available to purchase from Seven Fables, in store or via our website here
Price £16.99
Delivery within the UK £4.00
Overseas £25
Signed copies of Wintering, and The Electricity of Every Living Thing are also available.
Do visit Katherine's website where you may subscribe to her newsletter and also listen to her inspired Pod Casts - I particularly enjoyed hearing her conversation with Kerri ní Dochartaigh.
Thank you to Katherine and our guests who joined us in the woods, entering into the spirit of the evening, and to the Exmoor Feasting Company who supplied the perfect Midsummer picnic, the many flavours and delectable colours were appreciated by all.