VENTURING OUT – 2
Professor Ralph Pite, Twentieth Century Poetry and Romantic Period writing (University of Bristol)
This is the RSPB reserve at Ham Wall in Somerset (Ham Wall Nature Reserve, Somerset). We went there with our first group of MA students specialising in Literature and the Environment. We walked as a group to start with, listened to the bitterns, and we read together John Clare’s poem, ‘The Mores’ (The Mores by John Clare | Poemist). The students then had the chance to explore and we asked them to return with a photo, some reflections, a poem or drawing or song to present to the group.
One of them told us afterwards: ‘I’ve been on many field trips before; they’ve always been filled with hard-
and-fast goals and tasks, and in many cases, a quest for an accurate and uniform answer. This week’s learning mode is a mode that I rarely encounter […]. I am very grateful for this opportunity to feel nature, which will help me to better study in the future.’
Another came back with this image. For a panorama, instead of scanning the horizon, they circled up and around and back. It’s a simple thing to do and yet it gives a whole new perspective. I felt and still feel, looking at their photo, differently connected to – differently placed in – the natural world. They seem to have responded profoundly both to the place and to John Clare’s poetry.
