Growing up, I lived in a house without art: no picture books on the shelves, no visits to museums, no posters on the bedroom wall. John Burnside artbedroombook Change image and share on social
When I was ten years old, my family left a cold, damp prefab in West Fife and moved to Corby, Northamptonshire, where my father quickly found work at what was then the Stewarts & Lloyds steelworks. John Burnside coldcorbydamp Change image and share on social
The fabric of a garden is determined as much by its textures as by its tonal range and architectural flair. John Burnside architecturaldeterminefabric Change image and share on social
The great pleasure that comes from reading poets such as Mark Doty and Marianne Moore is the realisation that the essential virtues - compassion, wonder, humility, respect for the mysterious - are far from conventionally heroic. John Burnside compassionconventionallydoty share on social
With fiction, I tend to get to my desk and start writing. Poetry I write in my head, often while walking, so that my poems have an organic quality, hopefully. John Burnside deskfictionhead Change image and share on social
I remember when I first encountered anthropocentrism. I was in primary school and, in preparation for our confirmation, the class was learning about the afterlife. John Burnside afterlifeanthropocentrismclass Change image and share on social
My poems tend to be more celebratory and lyrical, and the novels so far pretty dark. Poetry doesn't seem to me to be an appropriate tool for exploring that. John Burnside celebratorydarkexplore Change image and share on social
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 animalcompaniondwell Change image and share on social
Many of the birds Audubon painted are now extinct, and still we go on killing them, more or less casually, with our pesticides and wires and machinery. John Burnside audubonbirdcasually Change image and share on social
What is essential - the one thing that could stop us being coarsened to other lives - is that we feel a great, living wave of animal life all around us, covering the earth. John Burnside animalcoarsencover Change image and share on social
