Anyone who has ever stopped to watch a hawk in flight will know that this is one of the natural world's most elegant phenomena. John Burnside More Quotes by John Burnside More Quotes From John Burnside That's the wonderful thing with nerds: they're enthusiasts. Not having a life means you get to love things with a passion and nobody bothers you about it. John Burnside nerd passion mean The definition of a page-turner really aught to be that this page is so good, you can't bear to leave it behind, but then the next page is there and it might be just as amazing as this one. John Burnside definitions bears might and because what we learn in the dark remains all our lives, a noise like the sea, displacing the day's pale knowledge, you'll come to yourself in a glimmer of rainfall or frost, the burnt smell of autumn, a meeting of parallel lines, and know you were someone else for the longest time, pretending you knew where you were, like a diffident tourist, lost on the one main square, and afraid to enquire. John Burnside autumn squares dark Our response to the world is essentially one of wonder, of confronting the mysterious with a sense, not of being small, or insignificant, but of being part of a rich and complex narrative. John Burnside mysterious narrative world My father was one of those men who sit in a room and you can feel it: the simmer, the sense of some unpredictable force that might, at any moment, break loose, and do something terrible. [Burnside, p. 27] John Burnside might men father Andy Brown is one of our most interesting and exciting younger poets. With its love of ideas and language, his work demonstrates that there need be no barriers in poetry; that the philosophical, the lyrical and the playful can be combined in work of assured and generous vision. John Burnside philosophical ideas interesting There is a red sandy beach in the Minas Basin in Nova Scotia that is unlike any other shore landscape I have ever seen. The world's highest tides wash its shores, and the soft cliffs of Blomidon Provincial Park are constantly crumbling away; whole trees will occasionally slide down to the sea to decay slowly in the wind and brine. John Burnside red sea beach world It's important to have quiet time and isolation. John Burnside isolation important time quiet Snow isn't just pretty. It also cleanses our world and our senses, not just of the soot and grime of a Fife mining town but also of a kind of weary familiarity, a taken-for-granted quality to which our eyes are all too susceptible. John Burnside eyes quality snow world For 10 years, I gave away my possessions every year and moved on to a new place. John Burnside new place year years One day I was talking about what I was going to do next, and just found myself announcing it: 'I'm going to write a book about my father.' John Burnside day myself father book This is a truth that should be repeated like a mantra: to have any chance of a ful - filling life, we require not only clean air and a steady climate, but also an abundance of meadows and woodlands, rivers and oceans, teeming with life and the mass existence of other living creatures. John Burnside living chance truth life If nature offers no home, then we must make a home one way or another. The only question is how. John Burnside question how nature home way All my life, I have been a celebrant of Halloween. For me, it is the most important day of the year, the turning point in the old pagan calendar. John Burnside my-life day me life I think humans have to learn a new way of dwelling on this earth. A way of living with their companions: animals, plants and fish. John Burnside plants fish think way We do not need to be heroes to save the world; all we need is humility, a critical view of the commercial and political interests of those who would mislead us into wrongdoing, and a sense of wonder. John Burnside view political humility world High Alpine meadows, like their near relatives prairie, desert and certain varieties of wetland, teach us to consider the world from a fresh perspective, to open our eyes and take account of what we have missed, reminding us that, in spite of our emphasis on the visual in everyday speech, we see so very little of the world. John Burnside eyes desert perspective world Sometimes, when the wind hits hard and icicles form on the sea cliffs, we can all come together - and at those times, we are at our best. John Burnside best sea together sometimes What the flamingo teaches a child, at that subliminal level where animal encounters work, is that gravity is not just a limitation, but also a possible partner in an intriguing, potentially joyful game. John Burnside partner game work animal Sadly, bird illustration has always been an under-appreciated art. John Burnside been always bird art
