The Screaming Sky by Charles Foster (paperback)

Shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize 2021

‘Thoughtful, eloquent and beguiling.’ Richard Davenport-Hines, The Oldie

‘Impresses on the page a reverence, an obsession, and eulogises about these tantalisingly high-riding creatures.’ Kirsteen McNish, Caught by the River

Swifts live in perpetual summer. They inhabit the air like nothing on the planet. They defy all our categories and present no passports as they surf the winds across the world.

Common swifts are Charles Foster’s joy and obsession. The euphoria of their springtime arrival gives way to such painful bereavement when they depart, that he tries to stay with them as they travel. He catches up with them in Mozambique, over the cliff-tops of southern Spain, and as they mingle with worshippers at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

The Screaming Sky is a radical engagement with the infinite complexity of this endangered species. It steps back, looks to the skies, and stands in awe of these magnificent birds.

Illustrated throughout by Jonathan Pomroy.

Paperback edition. Out now.