Drowned In A Sea Of Salt

February 18, 2015 8:43 PM

Blake Morrison on the literature of the east coast. - "Writers from Crabbe to Sebald have been drawn to the fragile beauty of the east coast of Britain – and have immortalised it in words"
posted by the man of twists and turns (4 comments total)

There is something about the area that creates great literature. Sebald's The Rings of Saturn, ostensibly about a walking tour of the south east coast, made a greater impression on me than just about any other book I've read. It perfectly captures that feeling of desolation and absence you get around there - the landscape, history and light - a difficult place to love but somewhere that keeps on calling you back.
posted by chrispy at 3:29 AM on February 19, 2015 [1 favorite]

"There is always a sense of loss, a feeling of being forgotten. There is nothing else here; no castles, no ancient monuments, no hills like green clouds. It is just a curve of the earth, a rawness of winter fields. Dim, flat, desolate lands that cauterise all sorrow."

From "The Peregrine" by J.A. Baker

(Although that's about Essex so probably isn't allowed to count)
posted by dng at 3:43 AM on February 19, 2015

And not just writers. (Though, to be fair, Peter Grimes was based on a poem by Crabbe.)
posted by kalimac at 6:52 AM on February 19, 2015

Interesting how environment can inspire exceptional work, especially when conditions might be less than "comfortable."
posted by Capillus at 9:00 AM on February 19, 2015