The Long Field by Pamela Petro

‘An exquisite unfolding of the truths of language and the human heart.’ Jay Griffiths

‘Petro writes with passion and precision in a style that is both intimate and profound. There’s an old saying in Welsh — dechrau wrth dy draed; it means “start with your feet”—that originally referred to the moving of stones from a field. Here Petro digs into the landscape of Wales and that of her own life in America to unearth not stones, but deep truths with which she surprises and delights the reader. ‘ Menna Elfyn

‘In its grace and elegance, its interlaced leitmotifs and shapely tendrils, The Long Field is a literary Celtic knot of quite exquisite power.’ Mike Parker

‘Both playful and serious, this memoir looks deep into the long field that separates and unites us, placing it squarely in a geography of love.’ Gwyneth Lewis

‘Not since Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek have I felt so involved, as a reader, to ‘finding out what it all means.’ This is a beautifully written, un-put-downable book about language, love, and being alive, here, now.’ Gillian Clarke, former National Poet of Wales

The Long Field burrows deep into the Welsh countryside to tell how this small country became a big part of an American writer’s life. Petro twines her story around that of Wales by viewing both through the lens of hiraeth, a Welsh word that’s famously hard to translate, deriving from an old usage meaning ‘long field’, but is also the name for the bone-deep longing for something or someone – a home, culture, language, or a younger self. The Long Field braids memoir with the essential hiraeth stories of Wales, and in doing so creates a radical new vision of place and belonging.

With colour photographs by the author and endpapers by Ellen Augarten.