From the imagined life which birthed the short story 'For sale: baby's shoes, never worn' to the rich narrative of the recently deceased Nelson Mandela, every life is a tale waiting to be told. For most people, however, life goes largely unrecorded. We are too busy, too disinterested, too unremarkable, or too unable to record our lifetime in words. Yet each year we see more and more biographies and auto-biographies coming into print. We live in a time of information where our appetite for the stories of others is insatiable.
Many authors have used this to their advantage and names like Frank McCourt and Michael Harding are familiar to us today thanks to their public journaling of their lives. Though there is a large market for auto-biographies there are many people who are unable to document their own lives well. Though the majority of these people wait for another to take up the telling of their tale there are some who wish to tell their story instead of having their story told. For these there is an abundance of skilled writers whose talents are available to all.
Though these ghost writers follow in the ancient tradition of eulogising, which has existed for millennia, they are not telling the tale themselves but are rather lending their voice and skill to the subject whose tale is being told. Their work, for the most part, remains anonymous as, their name implies, their role and efforts remain unseen to the naked eye. Amongst these wordsmiths whose talents are for hire is Mary Jane Robinson; who you might not have heard of but whose work you might very well have read.
Susan leads ‘Talking Books’ as we find out what the world of a ghost writer is like. Join us as we learn how Mary changes her voice so that she might lend her style to others. Discover what it is like delving into the mind of another to try and write their story with their words.
Continuing with authors telling personal stories, even if it is under the name of another, ‘Talking Books’ speaks with author and journalist George Monbiot. Known for his work as an investigative environmental reporter Monbiot has gained renown for his outspoken views on issues relating to the state of nature and our ability to coexist in a harmonious and healthy way. His latest book is no less controversial and in this episode George spoke with Susan about Feral and the ideas put forward in its pages.
With the global population growing there is an increase in the scale of land needed to shelter and feed the human race. While many are trying to manage this spread of man in a responsible way we in Europe are faced with the issue of having established and expanded our settlements long before any concept of environmental responsibility existed. As such our continent has become a landmass dominated by man’s presence. It is not the roads and buildings, however, that Monbiot takes issue with as such. Over the past centuries we have expanded outwards in an attempt to feed our increasing voracious appetites.
While this has resulted in an explosion of building as we create housing and factories for human industry, it has also meant an increase in the boarders of our farms. It is this feeding of the masses which is taking the largest toll on the environment of Europe as we clear land for grains or, most damagingly, pasture to fatten our herds. As we have expanded our boarders we have pushed the wild animals out; often to the brink of extinction, sometimes beyond. Through the liberal employment of poisons and projectiles we have driven the wild from Europe.
In Feral Monbiot calls for a reversal of these fortunes and a ‘re-wilding’ of the world. Listen back as George tells Susan about his dream of bison and wolves once again roaming Europe’s landscape. Find out why this re-wilding would be a good thing for us all and why sheep are the worst thing to ever happen to the world.
Should we tear down the fences we have erected to keep the wild world out?
