Undercurrent: in conversation with Natasha Carthew

"To grow up in rural poverty is to fight for life before you can walk."

Natasha Carthew was born into a world that sat alongside picture-postcard Cornwall, one where second homes took the sea view of council properties, summer months shifted the course of people's lives, and wealth converged with poverty on sandy beaches.

In the rockpools and hedgerows of the natural world, Natasha found solace in the beauty of the landscape, and in the mobile library she found her means of escape. In Undercurrent she returns to the cliff paths of her childhood, determined to make sense of an upbringing shaped by political neglect and a life defined by the beauty of nature.

Undercurrent is a journey through place, and a vivid story of hope, beauty and fierce resilience.

Join this special Festival of Nature event to discuss Natasha's latest book, and the themes of poverty, nature and resilience.

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Natasha Carthew is a working-class writer from Cornwall. She is published by Hodder, Bloomsbury, Quercus and the National Trust. Her new book Undercurrent: A Cornish Memoir of Poverty, Nature and Resilience, is out now with Coronet/Hodder.

She is known for writing on Socioeconomic issues and working-class representation in literature for several publications and programmes; including The Booker Prize Foundation, ITV, Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook, The Royal Society of Authors Journal, BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4, The Bookseller, The Guardian, The Observer, Mslexia, The Dark Mountain Project, The Big Issue and The Economist. Natasha guest edited the working-class edition of The Bookseller (Nov 2022) and is recipient of The Bookseller Rising Star Award 2022.

Natasha is Founder and Artistic Director of The Working Class Writers Festival and The Nature Writing Prize for Working Class Writers in association with Octopus/Hachette.

She is represented by Juliet Pickering at Blake Friedman Literary Agency.

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This event is hosted by Bristol-based artist and writer Simon Moreton. His work deals with themes such as grief, belonging, rurality, and family history. He is also Associate Professor of Creative Economies at UWE Bristol, where he works on projects to make creative work more equitable. His forthcoming book 'Now is the Time to Know Everything’ deals with the topic of nearly-fatherhood and miscarriage, while his previous book WHERE? (Little Toller) tackled his rural upbringing and the death of his father.

Find out more about this year's Festival of Nature 9-18 June here: festivalofnature.org.uk @festofnature

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This event is suitable for adults aged 18+

Host or Publisher Festival of Nature