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On this  episode we meet Will Burns to hear about his latest poetry collection Natural Burial Ground. Many of you will know Will from his fantastic (lockdown set) novel The Paper Lantern, a portrait of a transforming social & physical landscape during the strangest of years. It is a book flooded with new found time unlike Natural Burial Ground. Instead there, Will’s voice is open to the complexities and trials of loss. Both books though urge the reader to look again at the wider world and the moment they find themselves in and are huge recommends.

We also hear from Kevin Boniface who reads from his brilliant collection of short stories, Sports and Social. Set in a small Yorkshire town they are written with the eye of someone who sits at the heart of their community, mapping it’s intricacies, in beautifully observed, deeply humane writing.

Sports and Social is published by Blue Moose Books. Natural Burial Ground is published by Corsair Press and The Paper Lantern is published by W&N. All books are available either at the authors or publishers websites as well as all good independent bookshops, so do check them out.

Will Burns - www.willburns.co.uk Kevin Boniface - www.bluemoosebooks.com

Huge thanks as ever go to Huw Marc Bennett for the use of his song Y Gwydd and to Ian Hawgood for the use  of I'm Not Sure We Belong

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On this episode we meet up Vida Adamczewski and Catherine Prasifka.

First up, Vida to discuss Amphibian her vividly inventive short story collection. It is provocative storytelling infused with a radical compassion that finds voice in new places and reimagines the body as a territory, a swamp we are invited to wallow in by the cover.  Amphibian is published by the wonderful Toothgrinder press - www.toothgrinder.co.uk - Do search out them out and get yourself a copy. 

Many of you will know Catherine Prasifka from her startling debut None of This is Serious. Her latest novel This is How You Remember It chronicles the rapid encroachment of technology into her unnamed narrator’s life. From seemingly innocuous video games and early teenage encounters with porn to the compulsive tyranny of social media it explores the impact of this technology on a generation that have known little of life before its emergence.

Thanks to Huw Marc Bennett and Ian Hawgood for the use of their music. 

If you enjoyed the episode please hit the subscribe button or leave us a review.

Big love x

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On this episode of the Ramble we meet Richard Norris to hear about his memoir of a lifetime in music, Strange Things Are Happening. The book spans the entirety of Richard’s career from an early pivotal meeting with John Peel, via the birth of Acid House to Californian adventures with Joe Strummer.  But Strange Things Are Happening is much more than a series of anecdotes. 

At its heart are a series of reflections on forty years of creative practice, a lifetime of collaborations and innovations in music that have brought countless people together. It is written with a rare grace, never shying from accounts of relationships imploding or ideas that don’t make it. But above all else there is a deep sense of love here for the creative act and a gratitude for a life well lived.

Strange Things Are Happening is published by White Rabbit Books and is a huge recommend.

Richard Norris lived the 20th century and beyond like no one else and this is one of the truly great eyewitness accounts of the heroic years of the counterculture.'
David Keenan

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On this episode we speak to author Niamh Mulvey about her upcoming debut novel The Amendments. Many of you will know Niamh from her short story collection Hearts and Bones. (Head back to episode 6 of the pod if not to hear our interview with her shortly after H&B’s publication.) With The Amendments (published by Picador on April 11th) Niamh takes the titular story from the collection and crafts it into what is a beautifully wrought  novel. 

Set between London and Ireland The Amendments spans the lives of three generations of women, mapping the waining impact of powerful institutions on their lives. Although the plot is at stages particular to Ireland, there is a universal quality to the struggles Nell, Dolores and Brigid meet that is all too familiar.

Niamh’s is a rare voice. In a world that so often only speaks with unthinking certainty she writes bravely with rare nuance and  compassion. The result is an unsparing,  human and ultimately hopeful novel that asks us to embrace the world in all its contradictions and ambiguity. The Amendments is a huge recommend and one to watch through-out the year. If you’re close to any of these lovely places Niamh will be speaking there on these dates, so head along:

Foyles, Charing Cross Road 20th April (with Sinéad Gleeson and Elaine Feeney)

Phlox Books, London 24th April           (with Tomiwa Owolade)

Waterstones, Manchester 25th April 

The West Kirby Bookshop, 26th April 

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On this episode we hear from Sinéad Gleeson about her upcoming debut novel Hagstone. Set on a rugged island somewhere in the wild Atlantic it centres around the life of Nel an artist who draws inspiration from the landscape, folklore and unexplained phenomena that surround her. The island is also home to a reclusive community of women, the Inions, who task Nel with the creation of a new artwork, a request that leads her to uncover truths both about them and herself. 

If you’ve read Sinéad’s essays or know her work as an editor then Hagstone is exactly as you’d imagine. Thought provoking, unafraid and above all else a work of great story-telling. It was great to get the chance to sit down with her and hear how the novel came into being. And, along the way, we also had the chance to look back at her essay collection Constellations, discuss the incredible energy of the Irish literary scene and the enduring presence of Maeve Brennan. 

Hagstone  a huge recommend and is published in just a couple of weeks by 4th Estate on April 12th 

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On this episode we meet Balsam Karam to hear about her latest novel The Singularity. Set in an unnamed coastal town the story follows the impact of one woman’s death on another. It is a study of loss, migration and motherhood and a book that remains with you long after you’ve put it down.

 Through bold formal experimentation Balsam builds a language of post trauma, moving from separate narratives that co-exist on the same line to episodic, crystalline remembering. This is definitely a book for those who’ve read and loved Claudia Rankine’s Citizen. 

At its heart are searching questions about who we choose and choose not to see in society. And at a time when violence is so breezily explained away in our wider public discourse, The Singularity asks us to consider the depths and complexity of a single life and lasting impact of its loss.

The Singularity is published by Fitzcarraldo and is available now. 

Thanks to Ian Hawgood (Tides) and Huw Marc Bennett (Y Gwydd) for the use of their beautiful music. 

If you enjoyed our conversation with Balsam please leave us a review and subscribe where you get your podcasts to never miss an episode.

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On this  episode of the Ramble, an interview with Magogodi oaMphela Makhene in which we discuss her stunning, debut short story collection, Innards. Set in Soweto (where Magogodi was raised) her stories map the lives of a small group of residents living under and after apartheid.

By turns shockingly violent and deeply funny Innards is beautiful wrought from the first page. It is fiction that lays bare the enduring nature of trauma and celebrates the capacity of people to pursue life amid daunting realities.

There is so much to love about Magogodi’s work, but for us, above all else, it is her determination that the reader come to her. Every story is told in a blend of the languages of Soweto. They are transportive in the truest sense, boldly immersive and unsparing. A sprawling set of relationships, histories and politics that we are left to explore.

It was a huge pleasure to  hear how this remarkable book came into being. So, next time you're staring undecidedly at some book shop shelves, definitely give this a go.

An unforgettable debut that hits with all the force of the sun. Junot Diaz

Innards is a wonder. Magnificent and haunting. NoViolet Bulawayo

A relay of fearless burning emblems Paul Harding

Huge thanks to Huw Marc Bennett for the use of his song Y Gwydd

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On this episode of Field Ramble, an interview with  Aniefiok Ekpoudom to discuss his incredible work of narrative non fiction Where We Come From. Set between communities in South London, South Wales and the West Midland’s Neef’s book documents the rise of UK Rap and Grime. Beginning with the tenacious community hubs of Pirate Radio in Birmingham under the guiding hand of Cecil Morris to the emergence of artists such as Stormzy and Dave, Aniefiok documents the early years and emergence of the genres and the vital role that progenitors such as Cadet, Kano & Despa played. 

At a time when public discourse around our social history can often feel so narrow Where we Came From is vital. It is a book that explores and celebrates the key role immigration plays in invigorating and progressing our shared cultural landscape. And one deeply in love with the music it chronicles. If you don’t believe us check out these recommends.

Guy Gunaratne ‘Phenomenal … like the heroes he chronicles, Ekpoudom acts as a torchbearer, his book a beacon, for the story that follows.’

Candice Carty-Williams ‘A stunning exploration of a genre, a movement and a world. It is every bit as lyrical as the rap Ekpoudom has documented.’

Further reading: Adèle Oliver’s excellent Deeping It is definitely a huge recommend for anyone looking for further reading in the subject.  We’ll be catching up with Adèle over the next few weeks on the Ramble. So subscribe to Field Ramble now on iTunes or Spotify to not miss out. 

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Field Ramble is back  with award winning Irish novelist Mary Costello to hear about her latest short story collection Barcelona. It follows firmly in the footsteps of her debut novel Academy Street ( Novel of the Year 2014, The Irish Book Awards) and her first collection The China Factory in its fearlessness. Never afraid to shine a light on our darker side, Barcelona is unsparing in its exploration of cruelty and, in Mary's own words, our straining for consciousness. 

In this bumper episode we also meet up with film maker, activist and novelist Feryal Ali Gauhar to discuss her latest novel An Abundance of Wild Roses. The book is set within a remote community in Pakistan's Karakoram mountains and centres around the discovery of a dying man and  the repercussions that ensue. 

Both Mary and Feryal are writing into spaces about connection, growing violence and the possibility of wider consciousness.

Barcelona is published on 07/03/24

An Abundance of Wild Roses is also published on 07/03/24

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January is grim, there’s no two ways about it. So here are two fantastic debuts to keep you tucked up indoors and out of whichever storm has just landed. First off  a chat with Lottie Hazell whose novel Piglet is published on 25.01.  An unrelenting story of compulsion and unfulfilled hunger, it majors on love, class and the lack at the centre of modern life. (It also has one of the most insane wedding scenes you’ll read this year.) Follow the link below to order a copy.

https://www.theportobellobookshop.com/9780857529565-sf

Then, some time with Andrew McMillan to hear about his incredible debut novel Pity. Many of you will know Andrew from his poetry and Pity has a thread of gorgeous lyricism running through the heart of it. It is the story both of a community and of a couple Simon and Ryan who are in the early stages of their relationship. This is already a huge favourite at Field HQ, there is not a word out of place, it’s written with a poet’s economy & if you’re a fan of Max Porter or Claire Keegan then this is one for you. It also has to be a very early contender for cover of the year.

Piglet is published by Transworld Publishers on 25/01

Pity is published by Canongate on 08/02

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