The Clearing with Katherine May

Katherine May

Where would you go to rest and retreat, in good times and bad? Katherine May, author of Wintering and Enchantment, asks her guests to share their idea of a perfect sanctuary. Drawing on memory, inspiration and imagination, she explores the things we seek out when we need to restore our joy, hope and energy.  It begins with a forest clearing. What will we find there? A log cabin or a grand hotel? What cherished object or talisman would you bring? And what single work of art, be it a book, record, film or something else, would provide you with enough sustenance to see you through the darkness and remind you of the good times?   In a series of frank, thoughtful and deeply personal conversations, The Clearing will explore the cultural, social and spiritual mindset needed to survive difficult times.  Katherine's Links: Visit The Clearing website https://katherine-may.co.uk/the-clearing-podcast to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad free Katherine’s new book, Tending: How Care Binds the World is out in March and you can pre-order it here https://katherine-may.co.uk/tending Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US Follow Katherine on Instagram Visit Katherine’s Website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  1. 5 days ago

    Caitlin Moran’s ‘greatest building humans have ever come up with’

    Caitlin Moran is somewhat of an icon in the UK. Growing up as the eldest of eight kids in a three bed council flat, home-educated from the age of 11, she became a published author at just 16 and a TV presenter not long after that. A long-time columnist for The Times, she has a well-deserved reputation for being one of the UK’s funniest writers. She is also a massive fan of Wintering - so much so her new book contains an entire chapter devoted to it.  Caitlin joins Katherine for a conversation that was never going to be anything but brilliantly bonkers. They discuss her plan to rid the world of evil billionaires that basically involves being a madam, why she would pay a thousand pounds to hear the sound of a blackbird from Wolverhampton in the 1980s and ask; grottos - the Temu of caves?  Her unique vision of splendour for her escape to the Clearing, involving ‘the greatest building that humans have ever come up with’, provokes a particularly visceral reaction from Katherine.  Just to warn you, this being Caitlin, the episode contains a spot of swearing.  Links from the episode: Caitlin’s new book How to Be Hopeful  Outsiding Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/outsiding/id6782845808  Caitlin’s Instagram Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript, to discover how to enjoy our bonus episodes, our ad free episodes and if you subscribe, how to submit your own idea for a dream retreat. Katherine’s new book, Tending: How Care Binds the World is out in March and you can pre-order it here https://katherine-may.co.uk/tending Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US Follow Katherine on Instagram Visit Katherine’s Website Production Credits Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong Producer - Alice Lloyd Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Caitlin Moran’s ‘greatest building humans have ever come up with’
  2. 7 Sept

    Joseph Coelho’s art of pottering and rummaging

    Step forward our first OBE on the show; former Children’s Laureate, winner of the Carnegie Medal for Writing, poet and prolific children’s author, Joseph Coelho.   Having both grown up on housing estates where you definitely weren’t pre-conditioned for a life in the creative arts, Joseph and Katherine marvel at the way teachers can shape children’s futures, wonder at the power of brutalist public art and relish the joy of watching people rummage through abandoned homes in post-apocalyptic films.  A wonderful, and deeply thoughtful, conversation with one of the UK’s most inspiring literary figures.  Links from the episode:  Joseph’s website https://www.thepoetryofjosephcoelho.com/ Joseph’s Instagram Munya Chawawa’s Black Boys Theatre Club  Joseph’s estate he grew up on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alton_Estate  Lynn Chadwick’s The Watchers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Watchers_(sculpture) Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript, to discover how to enjoy our bonus episodes, our ad free episodes and if you subscribe, how to submit your own idea for a dream retreat. Katherine’s new book, Tending: How Care Binds the World is out in March and you can pre-order it here  Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US Follow Katherine on Instagram Visit Katherine’s Website Production Credits Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong Producer - Alice Lloyd Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Joseph Coelho’s art of pottering and rummaging
  3. 31 Aug

    Elise Loehnen’s radical candour therapist witch

    Katherine kicks off Season Three of The Clearing in wild style by chatting to former magazine editor, podcast host and US author Elise Loehnen.  Menopausal Love Island, lumberjack witches, the potential joy of losing female reproductive organs and animal totems are just some tiny tasters of a brilliant, hilarious, radical conversation that plays with the boundaries of possibility for women everywhere.  Despite it being her first podcast interview since discovering she had ‘dumb and slow cancer’ (the good kind) and undergoing a double mastectomy, Elise brings unfathomable, infinite amounts of energy and laughter, plus just the right amount of woo, to a joyous episode.  Links from the episode:  Elise’s website and podcast Pulling the Thread https://www.eliseloehnen.com/ Elise’s Instagram Mark Rothko, artist page https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/mark-rothko-1875 Anne Truitt, sculptor https://www.annetruitt.org/ Hilma af Klint, artist page https://hilmaafklint.se/ Ithell Colquhoun, artist page https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/ithell-colquhoun-931  Fulgur press https://www.fulgur.co.uk/ Visit The Clearing website www.theclearingpod.com for a full transcript, to discover how to enjoy our bonus episodes, our ad free episodes and if you subscribe, how to submit your own idea for a dream retreat. Katherine’s new book, Tending: How Care Binds the World is out in March and you can pre-order it here  Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US Follow Katherine on Instagram Visit Katherine’s Website Production Credits Guest Booker and Admin Support - Meghan Hutchins Substack Manager - Rebecca Armstrong Producer - Alice Lloyd Music - The Leaf Library @theleaflibrary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Elise Loehnen’s radical candour therapist witch

Trailers

About

Where would you go to rest and retreat, in good times and bad? Katherine May, author of Wintering and Enchantment, asks her guests to share their idea of a perfect sanctuary. Drawing on memory, inspiration and imagination, she explores the things we seek out when we need to restore our joy, hope and energy.  It begins with a forest clearing. What will we find there? A log cabin or a grand hotel? What cherished object or talisman would you bring? And what single work of art, be it a book, record, film or something else, would provide you with enough sustenance to see you through the darkness and remind you of the good times?   In a series of frank, thoughtful and deeply personal conversations, The Clearing will explore the cultural, social and spiritual mindset needed to survive difficult times.  Katherine's Links: Visit The Clearing website https://katherine-may.co.uk/the-clearing-podcast to discover how to enjoy the episodes ad free Katherine’s new book, Tending: How Care Binds the World is out in March and you can pre-order it here https://katherine-may.co.uk/tending Buy Katherine’s books: Enchantment | Wintering | The Electricity of Every Living Thing: UK / US Follow Katherine on Instagram Visit Katherine’s Website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.