The largest creative response to the climate and ecological emergency the world has yet seen.
2019 was the year of rebellion.
It was the year nurses, poets, nine-year-olds and grandparents came together to say: we know the truth about climate change – now it is time to act.
But what words describe this crisis? What words can help our children come to terms with the future they will inherit?
Earlier this year, Culture Declares Emergency invited people from all around the world to find those words by writing a letter to the earth. The invitation was open to all – to think beyond the human narrative and bear witness to the scale of the crisis. Letters of love, loss, hope and action were written by over 1000 people.
Now published as a collection, Letters to the Earth brings together the voices of children and the public with authors, scientists and playwrights in the first creative project of its kind.
Alongside letters from the public, Letters to the Earth received submissions from artist and peace activist Yoko Ono, actor Mark Rylance, writer and illustrator of The Lost Words Jackie Morris, novelist Anna Hope, environmental writer Jay Griffiths and Green Party MP Caroline Lucas . Together they are an invitation to consider how this existential threat affects the way we live our lives and the action we take.
Lots of books consider the climate and ecological crisis from a political or scientific perspective, but Letters to the Earth is the first book to chronicle how humankind is collectively processing planetary crisis.
Anna Hope is an English writer and actress from Manchester. She is perhaps best known for her Doctor Who role of Novice Hame. She was educated at Wadham College, Oxford, The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London, and Birkbeck College, London.
Anna's powerful first novel, WAKE, sold to Transworld Publishers in a seven-way auction. Set over the course of five days in 1920, WAKE weaves the stories of three women around the journey of the Unknown Soldier, from its excavation in Northern France to Armistice Day at Westminster Abbey. US rights were pre-empted by Susan Kamil at Random House. The book will be published in Doubleday hardback in early 2014.
This is collection of letters and poems, by adults and children alike, expressing their passionate feelings and opinions regarding climate change.
Some of these letters are fairly disheartening and gloomy, but the majority are empowering and hopeful, while remaining insightful and informative. Yes, there are a few preachy pieces and a few that read as pretentious ramblings, but overall the content and the message is sound.
We are currently living in a critical (and limited) time-frame where our collective actions will make or break the global outcome, so writings like this, that spread the word, inform the masses and rally for change, is necessary and welcomed reading, in my most humble opinion.
“Creation is the antidote to despair.” That’s one of the mottos of Culture Declares Emergency, a movement that began in April to bring the arts into the conversation about the climate emergency. Letters to the Earth compiles 100 short pieces by known and unknown names alike. Alongside published authors, songwriters, professors and politicians are lots of ordinary folk, including children as young as seven. Despite the title, the brief was broad: to write a letter in response to environmental crisis, whether to or from the Earth, to future generations (there are a couple of wrenching pieces written to young children: “What can I say, now that it’s too late? I can tell you the obvious: that I’m sorry, that I tried,” writes Stuart Capstick), to the government or to other species.
There are certainly relatable emotions here, especially the feeling of helplessness. “We take the train, go vegan, refuse plastic, buy less and less. But that is tiny. We are tiny,” novelist Jo Baker writes. I loved retired bishop Richard Holloway’s wry letter calling the author of Genesis to account for unhelpful language of dominion, Rob Cowen’s poem to a starling, and Anna Hope’s essay about parenting in a time of uncertainty. Unfortunately, much of the rest is twee or haranguing, e.g. “Forest fires are scorching INNOCENT wildlife. Plastic is strangling INNOCENT turtles and dolphins,” a 12-year-old writes. This was put together in a matter of months, and it shows. There is not enough variety, a lot of overwriting has crept through, and errors, especially in kids’ writing, remain uncorrected. Perhaps six to 10 pieces stood out to me. I recommend the Extinction Rebellion handbook* instead.
A favorite passage: “it’s confusing. We still get to go on holiday, drink wine, watch beautiful sunsets. We still pay insurance and kids still go to college. But there is something happening. An unraveling. A collapsing, both tacit and immense in scale.” (Dr Martin Shaw)
*Though I have the same annoyance here as I did with that book: there are no biographical notes on who most of the authors are. Only a few are identified by their bona fides and some don’t even have a full name given on the piece (only in the table of contents).
I’ve been dipping in and out of this book since I received it. It’s one of those books where you will probably get something different from each piece depending on your own views about our planet and the irreparable damage we are doing to it. There are letters and poems and short essays all with the same objective but looking at different aspects of climate change.
I have my favourite pieces and they were A Break Up Poem by Niamh McCarthy and Sleeping in the Forest by Mary Oliver. But each and every person brings their own views to their piece as they hope to make us think about what we are doing to the earth. I would have liked to have known more about the authors, who they were and the story behind their involvement though as it felt a little impersonal at times which is far from its intention I’m sure. But now I will do what the book asks and pass it on so that more people can read it and spread the word.
This book was the reason I finally decided to make a change in my life. I became vegan after the extensive excuse making we are all guilty of. I now make conscious efforts to be greener and live a healthier lifestyle. Healthier for myself, my family and for the planet. The anguish, fear and determination expressed within these pages has shaped me. As I hope it will do for many others. We must work co-operatively to change our fate.
2.5 ~ Quite a few essays greatly resonated with me and the overall idea of the book supports a cause I am passionate about - recognising and taking action on climate change. It was interesting to witness a collection of viewpoints from all walks of life, and I appreciated the structure in which the letters were organised. However, there were many essays that I felt could be skipped where the book got quite repetitive. This is evidently expected when there is not one, but a collection of authors' views presented in the book, making it hard to avoid repetition. Nevertheless, this was the main reason why I wasn't the biggest fan of the overall reading, as I got a bit disinterested (in a topic that I usually really enjoy!) as I felt like the book lacked insight due to the same message being articulated in different ways.
This was a bit of a hodgepodge of stuff. I listened to the audiobook and I quite liked how it was broken up by bits of singing, and some of the more poetic peices worked quite well, but otherwise it was a large selection of rather repetitive essays. It was interesting hearing from a range of different ages, I liked the inclusion of things written by children.
I wish I could recommend this book to many, as I care deeply about the subject of the book, but so many of the letters were just repeating themselves. It was a struggle to finish in the end.
This is an interesting collection of emotional letters and documents which collectively give a greater awareness of the strength of public feeling on the subject of climate change. We can continue to hide our heads in the sand but no-one can fail to see the impact of adverse weather conditions on our planet, and regardless of our individual political agenda, climate change is something which is affecting all of us right now. We only need to look at the severe impact of earthquake, devastating forest fires, and closer to home, the destruction caused by frequent flooding in those areas where flood defenses are stretched, quite literally, to breaking point.
The Letters to the Earth are written by people who represent all of us - from parents and children, politicians and poets, actors and activists and songwriters and scientists, all seek to remind us that we are facing a world in climate crisis. The individual writings are all quite different in content, however, the one thing they all have in common is the amount of passion expressed in each and every heartfelt plea for us to stop, look, listen and act now, before it's too late.
Beautifully presented in an easy to read format, Letters to the Earth, has something for everyone to consider, from letters by those people who are instantly recognisable like the activist Yoko Ono, to a letter written by a perfectly articulate 12 year old, but what they all have in common is that each and everyone of them makes you stop to really consider the impact of climate change.
I've been thoroughly educated by reading Letters to the Earth because it's written in a way which speaks to all of us in a strong and meaningful way. It's one of those books I'll definitely keep on my book shelf and read frequently to remind me that we can all do our bit to save this world in crisis.
I really don't want us to be the ones who cause so much irreparable damage to this beautiful planet that we bring about its destruction.
My eco-anxiety has been incredibly high over the last few years so I was a bit hesitant to dig into this but… this book is beautiful. There’s something about collective hope that really burns away fear. This collection of essays and poems from people all over the world can feel a little repetitive but, isn’t that necessary at times in order for the point to really come across and sink in? The various perspectives on the climate crisis range from kids, elderly, artists, scientists, activists, indigenous people etc. I’ll definitely be revisiting a few passages from this book whenever I need some reminding or hope that this has the ability to turn around.
This was uncomfortable read. But it's meant to be. People need to see, to know, and nothing about this situation is comforting.
For me, the book was a little bit repetetive and whilst often beautiful and poignant, I think could have been a tad shorter (it is over 100 pages longer than this GoodReads listing).
However, I must commend the children of this book. Some of the best words and letters in these letters come from children. I was continuously impressed seeing the age of those that wrote some of the most impactful things.
It's a challenge to get through, but not as challenging as it'll be for us to save this situation we've gotten ourselves in.
(This book was sent to me by my grandad as it is my Aunt Anna’s book, this doesn’t impact my opinion in anyway whilst reviewing this book.)
This is really not the type of book I would usually pick up or read for myself, in fact if it hadn’t been sent to me I wouldn’t have read it. I’m not the target or demographic for this book as the topic is of no interest to me personally. However I received it and was interested in it as I do love poetry so I thought I might still enjoy reading it.
This book certainly demonstrated people’s passion and aggression, their love and devotion for fighting the battle of climate change and for saving the earth. Some of the letters were very assertive whereas others were simple.
I found myself struggling at times as some of the letters were long and made no sense to me, I found myself confused by what they were trying to get at, but I persevered and continued. I loved reading the poetry ones and found them so beautifully written. I also thought it was sweet reading what the children had sent in, they were sweet and often more impactful than the long pushy letters. Children have a way about them when writing that can showcase what they are trying to say in a shorter and more powerful way. Those were certainly ones that I enjoyed more.
Overall this was an interesting book, certainly not one I would read again most likely but I’m glad I did take my time to read it. To some this book will mean so much to them and will help them and guide them where they want to be.
From what it says in the introduction there are still many letters and poems that had been sent in, I think in future they should publish more, they still have more voices yet to be shared and I think this book is a great way to get out and reach an audience that aren’t always hearing everything, so spreading more voices will equal more awareness. But that’s my opinion based off of reading this one.
I gave this book five stars. It's a must-read for everyone. I love that it is a part of an ongoing project at https://www.letterstotheearth.com/. If you haven't contributed, you can still do so. I am yet to.
This book is devastating and positive in equal measure. That's why it took me so long to get through. I could only read two or three excerpts a day and rhen had to ponder each piece.
The most difficult thing, I found, is when I was reading something so profound and upsetting and on turning the page noticing it was written by an 11-year-old. It was like an invisible wall of grief came down in front of me and I could go no further until I had fulling contemplated and absorbed its meaning and the feelings that came with it.
We all need to do be able to do this to move on in a more positive and creative way in the current political climate.
There are many favourite quotes but I think Megan Murray-Pepper on p. 218 was onto something in number six in her list "The hardest thing is to look beyond ourselves. To perceive the complex webs of interdependence in which we are entangled, and over which we must not have dominion, and then to accept and celebrate them. Nurture them. For their own sake as much for our own (nor are we separate)."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This book gets one more star than I thought I would give it. It's hastily thrown together and you can tell. Despite the sections, it was stretch to find a common theme between pieces apart from being related to the earth and climate change. Some of the pieces are twee and over-sentimental. Nevertheless, on the whole it's a valuable collection. Certain pieces were good enough that they knocked the breath out of my chest. The collection and its' scrappiness made me think about the scrappiness and wildness of our world. It's not always pretty and curated. It's unfiltered and often unpleasant. That doesn't mean it isn't worth saving. I think I may now be inspired to write my own letter to the earth.
I read this over a couple of days and while - as many people have also commented - the same sentiments were repeated throughout, I think this was precisely the point of this collection: to reiterate the echoed plea for change that defies sociological boundaries and is rooted within the hearts of so many. The letters written by children broke my heart the most, and to then read adults articulating the same pains, frustrations, and anxieties reinforced the idea of our universal interconnectedness and the resulting need for universal change. We need collective, microcosmic changes to make a macrocosmic, global difference, and this beautiful collection of letters gave me some hope of that.
This is one of the most affecting books I have ever read and one I would recommend to EVERYONE.
Interspersed among letters from poets, authors, actors and activists, the words from members of the public, who otherwise would never be published (which would have been such a shame!), are among those I find most touching.
Every page oozes with passion, encouragement and urgency, pushing us to understand the emergency that we, as humans, have created.
A serious message with a soothing edge of hope. Hope that, if we act now, we CAN make a difference.
Definitely an eye opening read, This one last letter is 💯
"You may think that you are simply one small positive droplet in an ocean of troubles. A droplet that can’t do anything. But if you search our ever expanding ocean you will find millions of other small droplets with the same mindset as yourself. Together you form a sea in an ocean. That sea can stir a storm. That sea can make a change."
Because I have given this a low rating (by my standards), I think an explanation is owed. A number of the letters in this anthology were beautiful and profound. Unfortunately, the majority were mediocre, and it seemed like the editors intentionally chose a lot of letters written by children for the pathos and poignancy, rather than the writing or originality of ideas. A 3.5.
This was not an easy book to read - bringing the climate crisis up close into our hearts, minds and bodies. It was an important book though with a variety of voices from across the world and different age groups and I know that certain poems and letters I will be returning to time and again.
A more poetic companion piece to This is Not a Drill. Some really good pieces in here ('An Apology/A Prayer' is particularly striking) but the standard isn't consistent enough for me to give it 4 or 5 stars.
So comforting to know there are people who feel like I do about our future on the earth and climate crisis issues. It was hard to hear at times, and the beauty of some of the writing is bitter sweet as it reflects such a dire situation.
I have conflicting views about this book. On the one hand, looking at just the book’s content for what it is, I really liked it, I didn’t connect with every single ‘letter’ but I didn’t expect to, that is why there’s such a range of them in there, everyone is likely to feel something when reading one of the entries. There were emotional, uplifting, angry and sometimes dreamy letters, something for everyone.
However, we should definitely look at this in its context, it is clearly a Westernised view of the climate crisis and it’s potential effects on the Earth. Albeit 2 or 3 brief mentions of people’s lives in the ‘Global South’ or ‘Third World’ being effected by the climate crisis, I was really missing the first hand perspective of people who have been affected by the climate crisis, be it from floods, deforestation, forced migration etc. I understand that they simply put out a call for letters and chose from those, but they should have done more to include this perspective. It focussed heavily on wildlife, trees and the actual earth and ignored the lives of millions already feeling the effects of climate change today.
I may be making a big deal out of nothing, most people reading this book will be from richer countries and this does cover the perspective of those people. However, we always seem to focus on the terrible losses of forests and animal species without caring about the humans already suffering, and it’s time we changed that. This book is perpetuating the limited view we have when trying to engage people to care about climate change.
If anyone reads this, do you agree or do you think I should just let this book be because there are better things to complain about than a cute book about letters to the earth?