What’s poetic about a bog? Surely they’re damp, unattractive and have you up to your knees in ‘interesting’ liquid? Well, not so, say some of the North’s top writers as they seek to challenge that stereotype.
Give Peat A Chance will be an anthology of prose and poetry by some of the country’s top writers including Amy Liptrot, Alys Fowler, Pascale Petit, David Morley and Rob McFarlane. It aims to create connection and understanding around peatland landscapes like Walshaw Moor, which looms above Howarth, Hebden Bridge and Hardcastle Crags.
The poetry of Walshaw Moor
Widely thought to be the original Wuthering Heights, it’s a site of special scientific interest and it’s also a bone of contention currently with a proposal to build one of the UK’s largest wind farms attracting a passionate local debate.
So, it’s fitting then that such fertile ground should inspire creative minds. It’s also a reminder of the key challenge to addressing climate crisis, where the constant spectre of nimbyism has the potential to bedevil the transition to renewables at the same time as recognising that everything in nature fulfils some sort of function in often fragile ecosystems.
The group, who call themselves The Boggarts, hope this collection will make the point that it’s easy to overlook moorland and bog and yet it has the potential to save us.
Crowdfund to Give Peat A Chance
In any case, such debates are secondary to the excellence which will be on show. The anthology will be published in collaboration between Little Toller with Bluemoose Books in September 2025. All of the artists are working for free, but production of hard copy books is a significant financial challenge. To this end, the group have started a crowdfunder which is already halfway to raising the funds necessary to publish the book.
For further information, visit the group’s crowdfunder page.
