The Essay
Land and Sea and Sky, Michael Bird
Michael Bird writes books about the visual arts, so St Ives is a good place to be. In his essay he explores how the constant transformations of what he sees, the land in the light, the weather, the breaking waves, even the people, have a rejuvenating, inspirational impact on him. Bird's essay was recorded in the streets leading down to the water, on Porthmeor Beach, on the cliff path leading to Land's End, along the run he takes to focus his thoughts. Unusually, but importantly, for a writer, he lives where the visual rather than the verbal, takes precedence. In St Ives one sees, then writes, rather than the other way around. And Michael Bird puzzles on his personal jouney, on how he came to be living in the far southwest, where land and sea and sky meet so dramatically.