You know when you sign up to something or are buying something, you get that nine-square grid, usually a US street scene, and it asks you to identify all the squares with a fire hydrant, or sidewalk crossing, or motorcycle? That always cheers me up, because it's a test that I can pass - and because it says 'Confirm Humanity'.
In the brilliant play Best of Enemies by James Graham, about the gladiatorial televised debates between Gore Vidal and William H Buckley in 1968, a line jumped out at me:
It's hard to make money telling people things they don't want to hear.
I winced because I immediately thought about my latest novel POD, and what extreme reactions it has provoked. Those readers who like it, love it. Those who don't, seem to get angry. I've upset them about the ocean, and I've upset them about what dolphins are like. But once again in my writing, I've based the story on real animal and environmental biology, and so I believe what they are really reacting against, is the truth of what we are doing to our ocean, and the creatures that live there. And the lack of political correctness in bottlenose dolphin society, but that's on them...
Hope spots and marine protected areas can and do regenerate species and coral and ecosystems - but we do not have enough of them, nor a global 'blue belt' where shipping may not go, or only with strictly enforced crossing areas, to protect ancient migration pathways for whales and other species. Do look at Mission Blue to take heart that we are not too late to save our ocean, and to be inspired to join in its defence. Every second breath of air we take, depends on its health.
I don't like the label cli-fi writer, yet I realise I've written a loose trilogy about the natural world, in which either insects, animals, or the natural world itself, are the protagonists. We're so used to hearing numbing and depressing stories about the state of the natural world, and I am desperate for comedy about it. In times of crisis we need to strengthen our morale like we need sunshine in winter - and when I'm writing, I'm always devoutly grateful when a burst of comedy finds its place in the story - usually a terrible, fallible, selfish, spoiled or just deluded character. And always, the most fun to write. Comedy is part of being alive, as any pet-owner will attest. Cats and dogs know all about jokes, tricks and timing - and who is to say they are the only creatures who do?
So as much as we need we need Seaspiracy,
and those many other brave and tough documentaries that will provoke us to action, we also need Don't Look Up,
because laughter reaches places outrage can't. Humanity is not just our collective noun, it's a word indivisibly linked to 'humane', meaning having compassion, and benevolence. We all know we have it inside us, we know when it's shown to us, and we know when it is withheld. But do we withhold it from the natural world, when we buy unthinkingly, or in denial, or in angry habit?
That line in Best of Enemies jumped out at me because who wants to hear bad news? I don't. But I believe in fire alarms more than I want to sit in a burning building. A good story can be a fire-alarm, it can show characters in a situation, and we draw our own conclusions about their actions, because our brains are made to make patterns and solve problems. If I write a story set in a hive, about the miracle of the honeybee, or the extraordinary unprotected world of the Arctic, or the intricate social worlds of dolphins and whales struggling to survive in an increasingly hostile world, I'm not trying to write 'cli-fi'. I'm imagining how it might be, to live in those conditions. I'm imagining myself as other people. Only some of them human.
SOME PERSPECTIVE: AN INTERVIEW WITH HENRY MANCE, author of the elegant, witty and deeply serious How to Love Animals in a Human Shaped World (and also Chief Features Writer at the Financial Times):
What can storytelling contribute to the climate crisis, that journalism can't?
We have to reach people emotionally, we have to appeal to their values. Story-telling is the art of finding new ways to do that. It's irresistible.
Why do you think people are in denial about climate change?
Mostly because it's socially acceptable to be. We express amazement at the changing weather, then do little to demand our politicians act or to change our behaviour and that's totally normal.
Should we be educating children about what meat really means, so they can make an informed choice?
Yes!! Right now, it surprises me that many parents are hesitant about bringing their kids up as vegetarians, vegans or with not much meat. Maybe they want their kids to be 'normal' or they feel it should be the child's decision. But a) the science is clear that our children will need to eat less meat than we have, and b) parents already take many choices for our children. We have no qualms about deciding that they shouldn't watch violent cartoons or drink too much coke. So let's feel relaxed about not bringing them up on a diet of (much) meat, and explaining to them why.
Research in animal communication is bringing Dr Doolittle possibilities of inter-species understanding thrillingly closer. If you could choose to be fluent in one animal language, which would you choose and why?
Obviously I want to know what my cat thinks of me (it's probably not good, right?). Aside from that: orangutan-ish, mainly so I can tell them how jealous I am of their flexibility.
How can we best encourage each other in these anxious times?
I try to remember the phrase: you never know what other people are going through. It breeds tolerance and compassion. So I guess that - and sending thank-you cards after parties.
SOME READING: You can buy Henry's book here and follow him on IG and Twitter
SOME BEAUTY: The brilliant artist Arlette Ess is led by her focus on the natural world, and luxury brand Hermes is one of her clients. She makes life more beautiful, by showing the beauty that is already there.
SOME DANCE: Strictly Come Dancing is so much more than sequins, samba and scandal - as professional dancer Cameron Lombard showed when he danced about climate change outside Buckingham Palace - joyous, heartlifting talent.
SOME GARDENING (and more reading): Orwell's Roses by Rebecca Solnit, about George Orwell the gardener as well as the writer, activist, fighter for social justice. His favourite roses were Albertines, the gorgeous climber that my mother also loved, and I have also recently planted.
AND SOME ACTION: the antidote to despair: British cod stocks are on the verge of collapse, and you can sign Blue Marine's petition to protect them.
I hope you have enjoyed my first newsletter, do let me know if anything particularly resonated with you. I am always happy to hear from others using various forms of storytelling to communicate the climate crisis.
Laline