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"Merely to be with the mountain as one visits a friend, with no intention but to be with him."

Fascinating. I admit to not having read "The Living Mountain" and indeed not knowing Nan Shepherd, the writer. This powerful essay by Robert Macfarlane has shown me that this was an inexcusable omission. I will read all of Shepherd's novels, and I must read The Living Mountain.

#NanShepherd #RobertMacfarlane #TheLivingMountain

Nan Shepherd, novelist of the North-East

Prof Alison Lumsden, from Aberdeen University, discusses Nan Shepherd’s novels – THE QUARRY WOOD, THE WEATHERHOUSE, and A PASS IN THE GRAMPIANS – at our 2017 Schools Conference

8/8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUOwRnwNgtI&list=PLEP9HxY4X7WZvMYoKDAL_wwSMSLzDldSY&index=7

#Scottish #literature #NanShepherd #modernism #20thCentury #WomenWriters

“To aim for the highest point is not the only way to climb a mountain”

Jo Milne at Aberdeen University celebrates Nan Shepherd’s achievements as a writer of prose & poetry, an editor, & an inspiring lecturer & traveller who loved literature & landscape

7/8

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/stories/nanshepherd/index.html

#Scottish #literature #NanShepherd #modernism #20thCentury #NatureWriting #WomenWriters

But in the climbing ecstasy of thought,
Ere consummation, ere the final peak,
Come hours like this…

—Nan Shepherd, “Summit of Coire Etchachan”
Published in WANDERERS: A History of Women Walking, by Kerri Andrews

6/8

https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/summit-corrie-etchachan/

#Scottish #literature #NanShepherd #modernism #20thCentury #NatureWriting #WomenWriters #Hillwalking

“At a time of global ecological crisis … her intuitive understanding of the landscape and the rhythms of nature is both a clarion call and a balm for the soul.”

—Scott Lyall on Nan Shepherd’s THE LIVING MOUNTAIN

5/8

https://theconversation.com/the-living-mountain-in-an-age-of-ecological-crisis-nan-shepherds-nature-writing-is-more-relevant-than-ever-119794

#Scottish #literature #NanShepherd #modernism #20thCentury #NatureWriting #WomenWriters #Ecology #Environment

Loch A’an, Loch A’an, hoo deep ye lie!
Tell nane yer depth and nane shall I.
Bricht though yer deepmaist pit may be,
Ye’ll haunt me till the day I dee.
Bricht, an’ bricht, an’ bricht as air,
Ye’ll haunt me noo for evermair.

—Nan Shepherd, “Loch Avon”
📷 : Nick Bramhall

4/8

https://www.flickr.com/photos/black_friction/5845274155

#Scottish #literature #NanShepherd #modernism #20thCentury #NatureWriting #WomenWriters #poetry #Scots #ScotsLanguage

“In Shepherd’s writing… true learning—like hill-walking—is arduous. True knowledge of the mountains is only possible through the suffering of the body brought on through the relentless motion of the feet.”

—Kerri Andrews on Shepherd’s nature poetics

3/8

https://lithub.com/on-the-nature-poetics-of-the-great-nan-shepherd-bard-of-the-highlands/

#Scottish #literature #NanShepherd #modernism #20thCentury #NatureWriting #WomenWriters #poetry #walking #hillwalking #mountains

Currently available on BBC Sounds – Robert Macfarlane celebrates Nan Shepherd’s intrepid literary spirit by embarking on an autumnal trip right into the heart of her favourite wild places in the #Cairngorms

2/8

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03mfndd

#Scottish #literature #NanShepherd #modernism #20thCentury #NatureWriting #WomenWriters #poetry