Usually, I would mistrust a book if it took that long to write. Usually, if it isn't done in two years, I suspect there's something wrong and throw it away. John Burnside booklongmistrust Change image and share on social
With fiction, I tend to get to my desk and start writing. Poetry I write in my head, often while walking, so that my poems have an organic quality, hopefully. John Burnside deskfictionhead Change image and share on social
I think humans have to learn a new way of dwelling on this earth. A way of living with their companions: animals, plants and fish. John Burnside animalcompaniondwell Change image and share on social
In many traditions, hawks are sacred: Apollo's messengers for the Greeks, sun symbols for the ancient Egyptians and, in the case of the Lakota Sioux, embodiments of clear vision, speed and single-minded dedication. John Burnside ancientapollocase share on social
When I was ten years old, my family left a cold, damp prefab in West Fife and moved to Corby, Northamptonshire, where my father quickly found work at what was then the Stewarts & Lloyds steelworks. John Burnside coldcorbydamp Change image and share on social
A mad person isn't someone who sees what isn't there; he's someone who sees what is there but that others can't see. I really believe that. John Burnside madpersonsee Change image and share on social
I don't want to suggest that matrimony was necessarily a tragic affair - some of our neighbours' marriages seemed quite functional, if somewhat routine; nevertheless, in the workaday world, it is wedlock that is most likely to offer the occasion for life-threatening disappointment. John Burnside affairdisappointmentfunctional share on social
Hunted for sport by the rich, then driven from large tracts of its natural habitat by agricultural and housing development, the giant panda deserves better than to be scrubbed from conservation's ledger books through false accounting. John Burnside accountagriculturalbook share on social
Once upon a time, forests were repositories of magic for the human race. John Burnside foresthumanmagic Change image and share on social
Snow isn't just pretty. It also cleanses our world and our senses, not just of the soot and grime of a Fife mining town but also of a kind of weary familiarity, a taken-for-granted quality to which our eyes are all too susceptible. John Burnside cleanseeyefamiliarity share on social
