By James Rebanks
Recently, I had the pleasure of taking a course with James Rebanks and Kathryn Aalto. Rebanks is the author of The Shepherd’s Life, which won the Lake District Book of the Year, and English Pastoral, published in 2020. The Shepherd’s Life is about Rebanks’ deep love and commitment to place, his family having lived and worked in the Lake District, for over 600 years.
English Pastoral is Rebanks’ second book. English Pastoral is about Rebanks’ coming back to the practices of farming before industrialized and large scale farms ravaged landscape and biodiversity. It is honest both in his account of his own journey and in the difficulties of living in closer proximity wit h the natural world.
The writing is evocative of place and I can see and hear his landscape. He writes, “This valley may remain unloved by both die-hard production-focused farmers…and extreme wilderness-loving ecologists, but to me it presents a beautiful compromise, and it is improving all the time…I am proud of my community both for keeping the old ways going and trying to find new ways to address the desperate problems of our age.”
This is not only a book about farming and land. It is about the lessons we learn from honoring our past.
You can follow him on his Twitter feed, @herdyshepherd1. While you’re at it, follow his amazing wife, Helen Rebanks, @theshepherdswi1. Her tales and photos are just phenomenal. She really does hold this family farm together. And, for those who don’t know, the Lake District is in England and is well-known for its literary landscape; Beatrix Potter and Wordsworth are two such authors.
