Resources
Promo video 2022
Promo video 2020
Spell Songs
Folk by the Oak have commissioned The Lost Words - Spell Songs, a musical project that will grow and flourish out of the original book. Spell Songs brings together eight remarkable musicians, whose music already engages deeply with landscape and nature, to respond to the creatures, art and language of The Lost Words. Spell Songs will allow these acclaimed and diverse musicians to weave together elements of British folk music, Senegalese folk traditions, experimental and classical music, and create an inspiring new body of work.
Penguin Challenge Cards
To celebrate the one-year anniversary of the book’s publication, Penguin has released some new teaching resources, consisting of 12 Challenge Cards. The cards are all themed around The Lost Words; they are matched to curricula in Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland, with objectives including: ‘cultivating ethical, informed citizens’, and ‘improving the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils’ – amongst many others.
An Explorer’s Guide to The Lost Words
This free guide by Eva John (commissioned by The John Muir Trust) accompanies The Lost Words. It’s for anyone with an interest in nature, words and images who wants to explore further some of the ideas and creatures conjured up in The Lost Words - especially useful for teachers and educators.
“From The Lost Words, by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris, music composed and sung by the amazing Kerry Andrews this shows me painting a wren, Robert writing the wren spell on a special piece of work we did together and the soundtrack was linked with the speeded up process to create what I think is a chiming lullaby of wild.
I’m using watercolour. Robert wrote in pencil. Kerry uses skill and magic to make the air vibrate.”
“This is a trick I am trying to learn; how to bring an otter, out from the mind, onto paper, using the words of the otter spell by Robert Macfarlane from The Lost Words, published by Hamish Hamilton and illustrated by me.”
“For the Cambridge Literature Festival 2018, Robert Macfarlane and I conjured an otter, using spring water from Nine Wells in Cambridge, sumi ink, pencil and gold leaf. ”
Jackie Morris conjures an otter at Waterstones, Lancaster in March 2018.
A film for Newsnight by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris about whether children spend enough time outdoors - and how The Lost Words addressed that.
The Lost Words: Seek Find Speak - a pre-production trailer.
The Lost Words: Seek Find Speak is dedicated to making performances as accessible as possible to audiences with sensory impairments. One of the ways we're doing this is using "makaton" - a signed language system designed to support spoken language. Here, Rhiannon Kearns performs “Weasel” using Makaton.
Robert Macfarlane talks to Waterstones shortly after the publication of The Lost Words in October 2017.
The Goldfinch Kid takes a walk through the bluebells at The Whirligig - home of our co-commissioners, Wild Rumpus.
Jackie Morris conjures an otter for Suffolk Wildlife Trust.
“Bluebell” by You Are Wolf (Kerry Andrew).
Elizabeth Wainwright (Extant Theatre), talks to director Collette Murray about accessible theatre for sensory-impaired audiences.
Robert Macfarlane reads “Willow” at Lightbox, St Andrews.
Timber Festival 2018
The Lost Words: Seek Find Speak premiered at Timber Festival 2018 - here’s a short film of highlights from this exciting new festival in the heart of the National Forest.
Just So Festival 2018
The goldfinches charmed the crowds at the magical Just So Festival in late summer 2018. Check out this wonderful film of festival highlights.