James Crowden is an author and poet living in Somerset. Born in Plymouth in 1954, he was raised on the western edge of Dartmoor. In 1972 he joined the army and served in Cyprus travelling widely in Eastern Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and north west India. In 1976-77 he spent a winter on the northern side of the Himalaya, in the remote Zangskar Valley in Ladakh. It was from this experience that he developed a lifelong interest in agriculture and Buddhism. James has a degree in Civil Engineering from Bristol University and later studied ethnology at Magdalen College, Oxford and the Pitt Rivers Museum. At the age of 21 he was made a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
For the last 20 years James has worked in North Dorset and South Somerset as a shepherd, sheep shearer, cider maker and forester. The choice of manual work was deliberate and gave him a deeper understanding of the landscape.
James has now retired from working on the land and is writing full time. Over the last few years he has worked on many different projects, in particular with Common Ground. In 1999 he was made their Apple Day Poet Laureate and subsequently wrote a libretto for a major new environmental opera called The Silver Messenger which was performed in Christchurch Priory in July 2001. This was part of Common Ground's three year Confluence Project with the composer Karen Wimhurst on the River Stour in Dorset. Recently James has worked on several recording projects for Year of the Artist and Somerset Now, as well as working on Foot & Mouth poetry with Devon photographer Chris Chapman.
James's poetry has often been featured on BBC Radio 4 and television. He enjoys working in schools and gives a wide range of poetry workshops, talks and lectures.
Website and social media: www.james-crowden.co.uk
Bibliography:
Blood Earth & Medicine
In Time of Flood
Cider - the Forgotten Miracle
Ciderland
Literary Somerset
Bridgwater - the Parrett's Mouth
The Wheal of Hope - South Crofty and Cornish Tin Mining
Silence at Ramscliffe ( with Chris Chapman)
Waterways
Working Women of Somerset
Dorset Man
Dorset Women
Dorset Coast
Dorset Footsteps
The Bad Winter
Open Mouthed
Coastlines
Flowers in the Minefield
From Ladysmith to Archangel
Amazon or other bookseller links: Yes
Links to ebooks: n/a
Synopses of books (max three):
In Time of Flood- The Somerset levels - The River Parrett
In Time of Flood is a journey in words and photographs down the river Parrett from source to mouth and covers such diverse topics as elvers, eel smoking, nuclear power stations, withies, cider brandy distilling and explosive factories, as well as the history of the river from Celtic times up to the present day. It formed the basis of a half hour BBC Radio 4 feature called Flat, Wet and Wild….
"It has a voice and poetry quite of its own… a truly wonderful haunting memorable piece of work" Charles Causley
"Enjoyed it. Full of interesting effects... Unexpected things." Ted Hughes
FROM LADYSMITH TO ARCHANGEL The Language of War
VOLUME ONE · THE BOER WAR 1899-1902
James Crowden explores the 'Language of War' by using contemporary sources, diaries, letters, newspaper reports and verbatim accounts to get a real feel for the war as it unfolded and to show how these cataclysmic events were recorded at the time, and why the Boer War had such an impact on public consciousness world wide.
James was amazed to find a very rich cast of characters which included Conan Doyle, who acted as a doctor in a typhoid outbreak; Rudyard Kipling, who briefly edited a newspaper; Mahatma Gandhi who acted as stretcher bearer at Spion Kop; Winston Churchill who was captured when an armoured train was ambushed; his intrepid aunt Lady Sarah Wilson who was also captured by the Boers, swopped for a horse thief, and not only survived the siege of Mafeking but became the first woman war correspondent, writing a column for the Daily Mail. Most interesting of all perhaps was that Vincent van Gogh had a third brother, Cornelis, who fought on the Boer side in a Dutch Commando, was captured and died in a British Army hospital.
Cider - The Forgotten Miracle
This is a witty, energetic and unforgettable investigation into the history of farmhouse cider. A fresh assessment of ancient traditions that have not only influenced the landscape for the better, but produced excellent cider into the bargain. Not surprisingly these myths, superstitions and anecdotes revolve around farms and farmers. This fascinating story set against the backdrop of 17th and 18th Century England is told with humour and clarity. It also involves a vivid description of working at Burrow Hill Cider Farm and charts the early days of the Somerset Cider Brandy Company.
Pitch to Publishers & Festival Organisers:
Very good animated speaker on a wide range of books and subjects eg History of Cider, Pioneering the 'Champagne method', In Time of Flood, 'Flowers in the Minefield' about 2nd World War poet John Jarmain , Literary Somerset, The Boer War etc etc
Awards & Prizes: Andre Simon Food and Drink Prize for Ciderland
Literary Festival Appearances: Dartington, Wells, Ludlow, Beaminster, Bridport, Oxford, Milverton, Brympton d'Evercy, Tavistock, Charmouth…
Please Attach Author Images and Book Cover Graphics:
Website address: www.james-crowden.co.uk
Contact email: [mailme[@]james-crowden.co.uk] (remove brackets if emailing)
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