The Lost Words

By: Robert Macfarlane, Jackie Morris

Narrated by: Edith Bowman, Guy Garvey

Finalist, Wainwright Prize

In 2007, when a new edition of the Oxford Junior Dictionary - widely used in schools around the world - was published, a sharp-eyed reader soon noticed that around 40 common words concerning nature had been dropped. Apparently they were no longer being used enough by children to merit their place in the dictionary. The list of these “lost words” included acorn, adder, bluebell, dandelion, fern, heron, kingfisher, newt, otter, and willow. Among the words taking their place were attachment, blog, broadband, bullet-point, cut-and-paste, and voice-mail. The news of these substitutions - the outdoor and natural being displaced by the indoor and virtual - became seen by many as a powerful sign of the growing gulf between childhood and the natural world.

Ten years later, Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris set out to make a “spell book” that will conjure back 20 of these lost words and the beings they name, from acorn to wren. By the magic of word, they sought to summon these words again into the voices, stories, and dreams of children and adults alike, and to celebrate the wonder and importance of everyday nature. The Lost Words is that book - a work that has already cast its extraordinary spell on hundreds of thousands of people and begun a grass-roots movement to re-wild childhood across Britain, Europe, and North America.

©2018 Robert Macfarlane, Jackie Morris (P)2018 Anansi Audio

The lost words

This is ThE most precious book of words I’ve ever had the blessing to hear,,,,

What a treasure... is there more?

I wish this to be the way every word is learned. Such intricacy and imagery, it burned away the bland and brought about the grand.

A sensory delight!

The sound and play of words and poetry vs natures sounds? BOTH! Listened to on a sleepless anxious night, smiles and total relaxation was the prize!

listen to it again and again

Love the readings and calm atmosphere created with the sounds of nature. When paired with the visual feast in the book it makes for a beautiful experience. I have three boys and we listen to it again and again.

I don't care about poetry... but, wow!

It's not that I dislike poetry. I usually just don't care or even think of it, but the premise of this book captured me, so I listened. It left me with, simultaneously, a deep sense of peace, and a feeling that, by not forgetting the words, I had accomplished a great deal.

My parents died with dementia and Alzheimer's. I watched them as their words came with struggled effort. I watch as I begin to forget simple words that I know, and am afraid.

This book returned some of them to me. It gave me peace.