Grounded: A Journey Into the Landscapes of Our Ancestors

Dr. James Canton runs the Wild Writing MA at the University of Essex and is the author of Ancient Wonderings and Out of Essex: Re-Imagining a Literary Landscape, which was inspired by his rural wandering in East Anglia. He was awarded his PhD by the University of Essex and reviews for the TLS, Caught by the River, and Earthlines. Canton is a regular on British television and radio and lectures frequently. He lives in Essex, England.

"To know what we are, and so how to behave and to thrive, we need to know where we've come from. Canton is an acute, gentle, companionable and elegaic guide through our past—and so through our present and future. He lets the land and our ancestors' bones speak. Their lessons could not be more urgent or exhilarating. You should join him in this sacramental journey." - Charles Foster, author of Cry of the Wild and Being a Human
“Written to quiet our stentorian age, Canton’s Grounded yearns for the solid and the sacred—the rushingly silent convergence of spirit and matter but also of ancient matter imbued with a timeless spirit.”  - Daniel Griffith, author of Dark Cloud Country
“Canton evokes moments of vivid experience with unshowy power.” - Wall Street Journal
“Intensely alive to the landscape; its pasts, people, and creatures.” - Robert Macfarlane, author of The Lost Words and Underland
“Canton’s writing has an exquisite, somewhat dreamlike quality.” - Peter Wohlleben, author of The Hidden Life of Trees
“Echoes of Walden” - Kirkus Reviews, on The Oak Papers
PRAISE FOR JAMES CANTON "Intensely alive to the landscape; its pasts, people and creatures" - Robert MacFarlane, author of The Lost Words and Landscapes
PRAISE FOR THE OAK PAPERS: “Nature-lovers will find Canton’s poetic tribute to be a treat.” - Publishers Weekly
"This is a profound meditation on the human need for connection with nature, as one man seeks solace beneath the boughs of an ancient oak tree. The tree and its surrounds come to life in shimmering detail, and Canton's writing has an exquisite, somewhat dreamlike quality" - Peter Wohlleben, author of The Hidden Life of Trees, on The Oak Papers
“Canton’s gift for vivid description makes this journey—this excavation of place and purpose—a captivating and ultimately anchoring one. <i>Grounded</i> is a joyful peer beneath the surface to where our own roots channel those of ancient time: it has brought new meaning to my everyday rituals of walking and seeing.” - Matt Collins, author of Forest: Walking Among Trees
“A vivid exploration to the hearth-heart of the sacred places of our past – brimming with warmth and gentleness.” - Keggie Carew, author of Beastly and DADLAND