The Precious Poetry of Nature
A partnership between Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales and two National Park authorities in Wales will see the bestselling book Geiriau Diflanedig – The Lost Words brought to life in two fully bilingual exhibitions for the first time this summer.
Geiriau Diflanedig – The Lost Words explores the relationship between language and the living world, and of nature’s power to spark the imagination. The touring exhibition, which is organised by Compton Verney, with Hamish Hamilton and Penguin Books, will bring together for the first time the original artwork by Jackie Morris alongside the English language poems by Robert Macfarlane and Welsh language poems by Mererid Hopwood.
The award-winning The Lost Words uses stirring spell-songs and eyecatching illustrations to reintroduce the fading faces of nature to our vocabularies and in turn, inspire us to join the fight to reverse their plight. The Welsh publication, Geiriau Diflanedig, was published by Graffeg in 2019.
The collaboration between Amgueddfa Cymru, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority and Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park Authority will see words and watercolours from the book on display at Yr Ysgwrn in Gwynedd from Sunday 25 June and at Oriel y Parc Gallery and Visitor Centre in Pembrokeshire from Sunday 2 July, both until spring 2024.
At Oriel y Parc in St Davids, specimens from the natural history collections of Amgueddfa Cymru will also be used to highlight the level of biodiversity loss and explain the work being done to try to arrest this decline.
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority chair Cllr Di Clements said: “The Lost Words has already reintroduced nature to the language and lives of many people since its release, and it is hoped this exhibition will help amplify the rallying call of this rousing work still further.
“This unique collaboration brings together three organisations with shared aims and objectives, to promote nature, culture and heritage and highlight the issues impacting on these important elements of our everyday lives.
“It will also give people an insight into efforts being made to combat the threats that nature and the Welsh language face, as well as what steps people can take to help tackle these issues.”
A series of special events and activities will be held at Oriel y Parc and Yr Ysgwrn to encourage more people to discover more about Geiriau Diflanedig – The Lost Words and use the spell-songs to conjure their own magic memories in nature.
For more information:
www.orielyparc.co.uk/the-lost-words
www.yrysgwrn.com/en/visit/lost-words-exhibition
www.yrysgwrn.com/en/visit/lost-words-exhibitionwww.thelostwords.org
