The Oak Papers

"A profound meditation on the human need for connection with nature, as one man seeks solace beneath the bows of an ancient oak tree."—Peter Wohlleben, author of The Hidden Life of Trees"James Canton knows so much, writes so well & understands so deeply about the true forest magic & the important place these trees have in it. Knowledge & joy."— Sara Maitland, author of How to Be AloneJoining the ranks of The Hidden Life of Trees & H is for Hawk, an evocative memoir & ode to one of the most majestic living things on earth—the oak tree—probing the mysteries of nature & the healing role it plays in our lives.Thrown into turmoil by the end of his long-term relationship, Professor James Canton spent 2 years meditating [PA1]beneath the welcoming shelter of the massive 800-year-old Honywood Oak tree in North Essex, England. While considering the direction of his own life, he began to contemplate the existence of this colossus tree. Standing in England for centuries, the oak would have been a sapling when the Magna Carta was signed in 1215.In this beautiful, transportive book, Canton tells the story of this tree in its ecological, spiritual, literary, & historical contexts, using it as a prism to see his own life & human history. The Oak Papers is a reflection on change & transformation, & the role nature has played in sustaining & redeeming us. Canton examines our long-standing dependency on the oak, & how that has developed & morphed into myth & legend. We no longer need these sturdy trees to build our houses & boats, to fuel our fires, or to grind their acorns into flour in times of famine. What purpose, then, do they serve in our world today? Are these miracles of nature no longer necessary to our lives? What can they offer us? Taking inspiration from the literary world—Henry David Thoreau, Leo Tolstoy, Katherine Basford’s Green Man, Thomas Hardy, & William Shakespear Oaks Are Born And Die On The Same Patch Of Earth. It Is That Sure-footedness That Is So Appealing. Ancient Oaks Hold A Powerful Sense Of The Longevity Of Life. The Sense Of Security, Of Attachment To Place, Enchants Us. You Can Stand Beneath A Grand Oak And Know That Your More Distant Ancestors Did So Too. This Is The Story Of One Man’s Relationship To An Ancient Tree, The Honywood Oak. Colossal And Wizened, It Would Have Been A Sapling When The Magna Carta Was Signed In 1215. James Canton Spent Two Years Sitting With And Studying This Unique Tree. It Was An Exercise In Discipline: He Needed To Slow Down In Order To Appreciate It Fully, To Tune In To It, To Connect With The Ecosystem That Lives Around, Inside And Under It. In This Stunning, Meditative Treatise, He Examines Our Long-standing Relationship With Trees, A Material As Well As A Source Of Myth And Legend, And Of Solace. We No Longer Build Our Houses From The Sturdy Oak And Its Relatives, Use Them To Fuel Our Fires Or Grind Their Seeds And Nuts Into Flour In Times Of Famine. Physically, We Don’t Need Them. Or Do We? The Natural World Has Lessons For Us – If We Slow Down Enough To Listen. From one man's improbable dedication to a rural oak tree springs a subtle, intimate and moving meditation on humanity and our relationship to the natural world