Robert Macfarlane | Is a River Alive?
Tue 13 May 2025 | 7:30pm - 8:30pm
From the celebrated writer, walker and observer Robert Macfarlane comes a brilliant, perspective-shifting new book, which answers a resounding ‘Yes’ to the question, Is a River Alive?
At the heart of Is A River Alive? is a single, transformative idea: that rivers are not mere matter for human use but living beings – who should be recognised as such in both imagination and law. Macfarlane takes the reader on a mind-expanding global journey in to the history, futures, people and places of this ancient, urgent concept.
Around the world, rivers are dying from pollution, drought and damming . But a powerful movement is also underway to recognise the lives and rights of rivers – and to re-animate our relationships with these vast, mysterious presences and landscapes we share.
Venue: TTP Stage (Cambridge Union)
Duration: 1 hour
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Author Biography
Robert Macfarlane is an author and academic. He regularly writes for publications including the Guardian and the Times. His writing often blurs ideas of genre and form and he regularly collaborates with artists, film-makers, photographers and musicians. His first book, Mountains of the Mind won the Guardian First Book Award and the Somerset Maugham Award. His other works include, The Old Ways, Landmarks as well as The Lost Words and The Lost Spells, children’s books of nature spells created in partnership with artist Jackie Morris. His most recent book was Underlands (2019). Robert a Fellow at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and an Honorary Patron of the festival.
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