A geological portrait of the coast of Britain in poems and photographs by Julie Cuthbert and Michael McKimm.

With a foreword by Jerry Brotton, author of A History of the World in Twelve Maps, 2012, and Four Points of the Compass, 2024.

The results of an eight year project, Or Land the Sea is a portrait of the geology of the coast of Britain, with photographs by artist Julie Cuthbert and poems by writer and Geological Society librarian Michael McKimm.

Taking recommendations from Geological Society staff and members, as well as the 100 Great Geosites chosen by the public in 2014, Julie travelled the length and breadth of the country, documenting the coastline with her camera and sending the photographs to Michael to inspire his poems. Starting at Hoy’s Old Man in Orkney, the photo-poem circumnavigates the coast, taking in places such as Flamborough Head in Yorkshire, Botany Bay in Kent, Kynance Cove in Cornwall and the submerged forest at Borth in Ceredigion.

With over fifty full-colour photographs, and exploring themes such as deep time, coastal erosion, geotourism, fishing communities, and the links between geology and biodiversity, the resulting photo-poem is a unique record of the fascinating and varied geology of the coastline, its flora and fauna, and the people who live alongside it.

“What Or Land the Sea reminded me, now more than ever, was that the liminal spaces between land and sea, nature and culture, self and other, all need to be respected in and for themselves, and not for their geopolitical meanings or natural resources.” – Jerry Brotton

Or Land the Sea: a photo-poem (Red Bird Publishing, 2024)
Julie Cuthbert & Michael McKimm
ISBN: 978-1-907083-12-9
84pp
272x210mm; landscape
Matt art paper, sewn binding

Price: £15.00

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