In this invigorating new collection, Briony Hughes uses her experiences tracking bats through the Surrey Hills as a means to expand ‘communication’ beyond the human body. The bat as a cultural figure is small, blind, nocturnal, and occasionally sinister, but in Hughes’ poems they become a medium through which to interrogate the most pressing issues of our time; what happens when we abandon concepts of human exceptionalism and see ourselves as animals existing with other animals within an ecosystem? In a book of innovative engagements with language and visuality, Hughes explores the enmeshment of humanity within the natural world, and finds a moving kinship with these exceptional, easily overlooked creatures.
Briony will be joined by guest readers Sarah Westcott, Robin Boothroyd, and Redell Olsen.
This is a free event, but we ask that you RSVP via the website.