Some of the most evocative words in language are those we use to describe the natural world. Words like petrichor, murmuration, shivelight and noonbeams all conjure up experiences of being out in nature. In Japan this concept of spending time with the great outdoors is known as Shinrin-yoku ‘forest bathing’, whilst in Norway it is Friluftsliv or ‘free-air life’, a word coined by playwright Henrik Ibsen, meaning a deep, daily connection with nature regardless of weather or season. Nature has inspired poets and writers through the centuries, and the phrases they used are often what we bring to mind when we think of the natural world: Wordsworth wandered lonely as a cloud, Keats wrote his ‘Ode to a Nightingale’ and Shakespeare compared his muse to a summer’s day. Odes and Nightingales is a nature-lover’s lexicon that celebrates the language of our wildlife and landscape; their origins, and the very best writing on nature. Perfect for reading or sharing, this is a gift to treasure all year long.
