Polly Atkin

The transformative power of year-round freshwater swimming. Poet and nature writer Polly Atkin invites us to take a dip in the rivers, tarns, and lakes where she swims year-round, finding inspiration and freedom every day. In this intimate, beautiful book, she shares her engagement with the crystal cold water and how this reconnects her body and mind with the natural world. Through luminous, attentive prose, Atkin captures the impact of immersion and the allure of the Lakeland landscapes that surround her. Drawing on her experience of disability, she shows how swimming can open up space for ease, relief and sometimes joy. Whether bracing herself for icy streams or floating on a summer evening, Atkin s reflections remind us to slow down, breathe, and enjoy being fully present. This is a book about resilience, mindfulness and the transformative embrace of wild water.

An observant, lyrical memoir exploring what owls can teach us about nature, chronic illness, and ourselves—so long as we are quiet enough to listen. “Let me tell you about my neighbors, the owls,” writes Polly Atkin in this love letter to the clutch of tawny owlets residing near her Lake District home. Circumscribed by a chronic illness to her cottage and the surrounding area, she turns to the trees and the animals among them for companionship—especially the owl siblings who surprise and delight her. As Atkin watches the owls grow from curious fledglings into sleek raptors, she contemplates the act of survival and our place within it: When should a human intervene? When should nature take its course? What do the owls know that we do not? The owls encourage her to think differently about solitude and community, individuality and belonging, rest and retreat. And with them as her companions, she weighs the many types of company we keep—in our relationships, in the darkness, and in our entanglement with the digital world that connects us across continents.A call to find joy in unexpected places, The Company of Owls teaches us to listen when all around us seems like clamor and noise.

Share in the company of owls in this nocturnal love song… From the author of Some of Us Just Fall, longlisted for the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing. ‘I couldn’t put down this warm and comforting, beautiful book.’ Ajay Tegala, author of Wetland Diaries ___ In the woods above Polly Atkin’s home in Grasmere, Cumbria live the tawny owls she calls her neighbours. Each night, they come down to her cottage at dusk, calling out as night falls – in particular a trio of owlets she watches grow from fledglings to young adults. As the antics of the owl siblings develop – their capacity to play, to bicker, to share and to protect – they encourage her to think differently about some of the big needs of all our lives: solitude and companionship, care and belonging, rest and retreat. And into the frame step questions about all sorts of relationships, from how we feel when in darkness to the homes and connection we so desperately seek. The Company Of Owls is a love song to these incredible creatures, and a reflection on what makes them, and us, unique. It’s a call to find joy in unexpected places and times. It is a lesson in learning to listen – to really listen – when all around us seems clamour and noise. ___ ‘Rarely have I found a book so transporting, so moving.’ Jessica J. Lee, author of Dispersals ‘A beautiful guide to moving through this world with tender curiosity, joy and reflection.’ Sally Huband, author of Sea Bean

Share in the company of owls in this nocturnal love song… From the author of Some of Us Just Fall, longlisted for the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing. ‘I couldn’t put down this warm and comforting, beautiful book.’ Ajay Tegala, author of Wetland Diaries ___ In the woods above Polly Atkin’s home in Grasmere, Cumbria live the tawny owls she calls her neighbours. Each night, they come down to her cottage at dusk, calling out as night falls – in particular a trio of owlets she watches grow from fledglings to young adults. As the antics of the owl siblings develop – their capacity to play, to bicker, to share and to protect – they encourage her to think differently about some of the big needs of all our lives: solitude and companionship, care and belonging, rest and retreat. And into the frame step questions about all sorts of relationships, from how we feel when in darkness to the homes and connection we so desperately seek. The Company Of Owls is a love song to these incredible creatures, and a reflection on what makes them, and us, unique. It’s a call to find joy in unexpected places and times. It is a lesson in learning to listen – to really listen – when all around us seems clamour and noise. ___ ‘Rarely have I found a book so transporting, so moving.’ Jessica J. Lee, author of Dispersals ‘A beautiful guide to moving through this world with tender curiosity, joy and reflection.’ Sally Huband, author of Sea Bean

WINNER OF 2024 LAKELAND BOOK OF THE YEARLONGLISTED FOR THE 2024 WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING'It raises the standard of nature writing. This is both radical manifesto and activism in book form' Sally Huband, author of Sea Bean'Long before I knew I was sick, I knew I was breakable . . .'After years of unexplained health problems, Polly Atkin's understanding of her body had become fluid and disjointed. When she was finally diagnosed with two chronic conditions in her thirties, she began to piece together her own history: the fractures and dislocations, the exhaustion and medical disregard.A searing blend of memoir, nature writing and pathography, Some of Us Just Fall traces a remarkable journey through illness. From misdiagnoses to wild swimming in the Lake District, Polly examines her genetic inheritance, her place in the natural world and her future in her body.'Defiant and dazzling' Freya Bromley, author of The Tidal Year

"In her contemplative memoir, Polly Atkin encourages everyone, especially those with chronic illnesses, to look beyond their own history and see the beauty in their world." --The Washington Post"Defiant and dazzling." --Freya Bromley, author of The Tidal Year "Essential reading." --Jessica J. Lee, author of Turning"Long before I knew I was sick, I knew I was breakable..."After years of unexplained health problems, Polly Atkin's perception of her body was rendered fluid and disjointed. When she was finally diagnosed with two chronic conditions in her thirties, she began to piece together what had been happening to her- all the misdiagnoses, the fractures, the dislocations, the bone-crushing exhaustion, and on top of it all, not being believed by the very people who were meant to listen.Some of Us Just Fall combines memoir, pathography and nature writing to trace a journey through illness- a journey which led Atkins to her cottage in England's Lake District, where every day she turns to the lakes and land that inspire poets old and new to help manage, and purportedly cure, her chronic illness.Join her as she delves into shimmering waters, selkie dreams, and the history of her two genetic conditions to uncover and learn from how they were managed (or not) in times gone by. Beautiful and deeply personal, Some of Us Just Fall is essential reading on the cost of medical misogyny and gaslighting, the illusion of 'the nature cure', and the dangers of ableism both systematic and internalized.This is not a book about getting better. This is a book about living better with illness.

'Defiant and dazzling'Freya Bromley, author of The Tidal Year'Essential reading'Jessica J. Lee, author of Turning'It raises the standard of nature writing. This is both radical manifesto and activism in book form'Sally Huband, author of Sea BeanAfter years of unexplained health problems, Polly Atkin's perception of her body was rendered fluid and disjointed. When she was finally diagnosed with two chronic conditions in her thirties, she began to piece together what had been happening to her - all the misdiagnoses, the fractures, the dislocations, the bone-crushing exhaustion, the not being believed.Some of Us Just Fall combines memoir, pathography and nature writing to trace a fascinating journey through illness, a journey which led Polly to her current home in the Lake District, where outdoor swimming is purported to cure all, and where every day she turns to the natural world to help tame her illness. Polly delves into the history of her two genetic conditions, uncovering how these illnesses were managed (or not) in times gone by and exploring how best to plan for her own future. From medical misogyny and gaslighting, to the illusion of 'the nature cure', this essential, beautiful and deeply personal book examines how we deal with bodies that diverge from the norm, and why this urgently needs to change.This is not a book about getting better. This is a book about living better with illness.

DOROTHY WORDSWORTH is well known as the author of the Alfoxden and Grasmere Journals (1798–1803) and as the sister of the poet William Wordsworth. She is widely praised for her nature writing and is often remembered as a woman of great physical vitality. Less well known, however, is that Dorothy became seriously ill in 1829 and was mostly housebound for the last twenty years of her life. Her personal letters and unpublished journals from this time paint a portrait of a compassionate and creative woman who made her sickroom into a garden for herself and her pet robin and who finally grew to call herself a poet. They also reveal how vital Dorothy was to her brother’s success, and the closeness they shared as siblings. By re-examining her life through the perspective of her illness, this biography allows Dorothy Wordsworth to step out from her brother’s shadow and back into her own life story.

In Much With Body, Polly Atkin displays her gifts as a vibrant and provocative contemporary nature poet. The dramatic landscapes of the Lake District and the diaries of Dorothy Wordsworth give rise to these poems. A life-long negotiation with a set of chronic health conditions, brings urgency to her warning we can't expect nature to save us.

This striking debut collection from Seren by Polly Atkin is full of vigorously intelligent, lively and entertaining poetry. Already a prize-winner in a number of competitions, Atkin weaves dense metaphors and sensitive observations of the natural world into her original poems. She is often inspired by the Lake District, where she has lived for a decade.

These acutely observed and atmospheric poems by Polly Atkin in her new pamphlet, Shadow Dispatches, from Seren press, offer us a slant perspective on everyday things and events...

"I Have Found a Song" is a fascinating collection of poems and images published to mark the Bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act. It originated in a commission from Arts Council England for 12 poets to write on the theme of enslavement, which has resulted in a richly diverse selection of new poems. Interspersed with these are elaborate and exciting visual contributions by five artists invited by "Enitharmon Editions" to produce work on the same theme. The de luxe edition of the book is accompanied by a portfolio of signed original prints, and each artist has also contributed additional sequences of images reflecting on enslavement in its many forms. The poets include Patience Agbabi, Polly Atkin, Valerie Bloom, Jean 'Binta' Breeze, Fred D'Aguiar, Helen Dunmore, Bernardine Evaristo, Paul Farley, Jacob Sam-La Rose, Iain Sinclair, Hugo Williams, and Benjamin Zephaniah. The artists include Sonia Boyce, Hew Locke, Shanti Panchal, Chris Steele-Perkins, and Paula Rego.