Thursday 17 April 2014

Reading at 'Streams of Story', The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh



I'll be reading from Byssus at The Fruitmarket Gallery next Thursday, to celebrate Tania Kovat's new exhibition Oceans

'The exhibition begins with All the Sea (2012–14), a work made from the sea water collected from around the world by individuals who responded to a public invitation to help assemble the world’s sea water in one place. Decanted into 365 glass bottles, All the Sea takes the form of a library of bodies of water, from the Adriatic to the Yellow Sea. It also represents an archive of moments in time, recordings of 250 human experiences with – and most probably in – the sea, capturing in bottles a substance that otherwise slips through our fingers.'

Details here, booking recommended.

Thursday 10 April 2014

Friday 4 April 2014

What happens in our brains when we look for and find wild food – can you help?


I'd like to understand more about what happens in our brains when we go foraging for wild food. Why are hunting for and finding mushrooms, shellfish, berries exciting/compelling/satisfying? I'm assuming dopamine/oxytocin/reward centres may be involved…can anyone explain how it works? Can you recommend any reliable but not excessively technical reading? Please comment below if you can help!