Paul Evans reads from his latest book How To See Nature at Shrewsbury Festival of Literature on 24th November at 3pm - 4pm. Tickests are available at: http://www.shrewsburylitfest.co.uk/events/event/40/ 

With a title taken from the 1940 Batsford book, this is nature writing for the modern reader. It is a book both for those that live in the country and those that don’t, but experience nature every day through brownfield edge lands, transport corridors, urban greenspace, industrialised agriculture and fragments of ancient countryside. Evans weaves historical, cultural and literary references into his writing, ranging from TS Eliot to Bridget Riley, from Hieronymus Bosch to Napoleon.

The essays include the The Weedling Wild, on the wildlife of the wasteland: ragwort, rosebay willowherb, giant hogweed and the cinnabar moth; Gardens of Light, about the creatures to be found under moonlight: pipistrelle bats, lacewings and orb-weaver spider; The Flow, with tales from the riverbank, estuaries and seas, including kingfisher, minnow, otter and heron. The Commons looks at meadowland with a human footprint, with the Adonis blue butterfly, horseshoe vetch, skylark, black knapweed and the six-belted clearwing moth. Other chapters look at the wildlife returned to Britain, such as wild boar and polecats, and finds nature in and around landscapes as varied as a domestic garden or a wild moor. The book ends with an alphabetical bestiary, an idiosyncratic selection of British wildlife based on the author’s personal encounters.

Dr Paul Evans is senior lecturer in English at Manchester Metropolitan University. Best known as the author of the Guardian’s Country Diary, Paul Evans is a naturalist, broadcaster of natural-history documentaries and award-winning dramas for Radio 4, and performance poet. He writes for publications including BBC Wildlife, Geographical, The National Trust Magazine and Country Living; and his work appears in many anthologies. He has had his poetry set to music by an American folk group and even been the subject of an MA at a Belgian university. He lives with his family in Much Wenlock, Shropshire where he was born.

The third Shrewsbury Festival of Literature takes place over the weekend of 23rd to 25th November and will once again bring a wide variety authors and poets to the town. The festival takes advantage of the lovely town of Shrewsbury and all of the events, with perhaps one exception, are taking place within the loop of the river in some lovely venues.