28/11/2025
Dartmoor Preservation Association has just published its ‘Wild Words’ magazine, and I was honoured to be invited to write an introduction to this unique anthology.
Dartmoor has inspired generations of writers, poets, singers, artists, and more. This wild and worked landscape has served both as a portentous backdrop and as a commanding character in novels, folktales, poems, songs, and films. The Dartmoor Preservation Association's invitation to submit writings for Wild Words magazine has elicited a wondrous array of stories about connection, landscape, and hope.
Storytelling is fundamental to our human experience and understanding. Around the world and across cultures, stories have been used to teach about food, medicine, labour, water sources, ancestral burials, and celestial movements; to explain natural phenomena; to warn of danger; and to entertain. Passed down from generation to generation, they offer a sense of rootedness in landscape and belonging - something much needed in today's world as we face a polycrisis. I enjoy collecting stories as I visit different farms, villages, and towns, and I share myths, legends, and more during my guided walks and talks across Dartmoor.
Contributions range from professional writers to amateurs scribing for the first time, all sharing their passion for Dartmoor. Some authors live locally; others visit often and love all that Dartmoor has to offer. Words range from touching memories, diary entries, and thrilling or terrifying encounters to reflections on climate change and habitat or wildlife decline. There are evocative songs and stories about walking, the mercurial weather - where you can face sun, rain, wind, and fog all in one day - favourite routes to explore, the passing of time, the seasons, and of grief. It is a joy to read and hear so many different perspectives from people inspired by this extraordinary living, working landscape.
Download free ‘Wild Words’ magazine - dartmoorpreservation.co.uk/wild-words/
