Fernseed: A Collection of Tales by Sarah Royston

Description

Spring is the time to gather songs from the dead. Sap rises in the churchyard yews and sets the old trees thrumming. Their heartwood is etched with rings, fine as grooves in vinyl. Think of them as tracks, laid down year by year. 

In April, even Old Street is pretty. Birds sing vespers in a blossoming tree. But I don’t stop to listen; I’m going underground. My shoes trail crushed petals as I hurry down the stairs, elbowing my way into the smoky cellar-bar. Just in time. On the stage, Ethan Ford is playing a new song. Not new, obviously. Freshly gathered. A Cornish ballad, cold and wild as the sea. The guitar part is his own, using an odd tuning he’s picked up on his travels. Head bent, his dark hair flops to the rim of his glasses. I can’t take my eyes off him.

Nourished by grave-mould, the trees store the voices of the past. A treasure trove of music, lying useless in the dark. Until now. These notes, drawn from my experience, will help you tap this rich seam.

— From “Long Player”

Fernseed: A Collection of Tales by Sarah Royston is a novella length collection of short stories. It is a speculative dive into history and the English landscape, from ancient standing stones to crackling pylons, deep holy wells and Victorian industrial run-off. Deeply lyrical, these stories are full of non-human voices, queer characters and the relationships between them. These tale are by turns gentle and sinister, filled with hunger: for escape, for each other, for enchantment.

Sarah Royston’s writing draws inspiration from queer ecologies, plant-lore and the landscapes of southern England. Her work is published in Dark Mountain, The Rumpus and Crow & Cross Keys, among others. She works at Anglia Ruskin University and her work on this issue was supported by the University’s Sustainable Futures Knowledge Exchange fund. Her website is https://hedgeways.wordpress.com/

Fernseed is printed on 100% recycled paper.