After a noisy upbringing as one of six children, and adulthood as a vocal feminist and mother, sara maitland began to crave silence. This is an abridged extract from a book of silence by sara maitland, which will be published on november. Thank you for sara maitlands article on the power of desert silence in pursuit of silence, april 18. Eight years through the stillongoing process, she wrote about her endeavor in a book of silence as part of this journey, maitland has done 40 days and 40 nights of something approaching complete silence in a remote, isolated house in the far north of england.
Maitland is not unaware of the paradox that by writing a book, especially a storytellers book, wherein language is a means of telling, shes going to invade the very silence she recommends. So, so excited to be hearing maitland speak at the beckett festival in august. A book of silence by sara maitlandnovelist sara maitland, a lover of solitude, offers a practical rather than romantic guide to life in the middle of nowhere, says kate clanchy. Maitland is a bold adventurer and the rest of us, doubtless illequipped to deal with the emotional and intellectual challenge of selfsought solitude, are lucky she can give the condition of silence such an articulate voice. Nov 01, 2008 sara maitland s book is an earnest and deep exploration of the nature and cultural significance of silence. Over the past five years, she has spent periods of silence in the sinai desert and the australian bush and on the isle of skye. Posted by suroor alikhan in autobiography biography memoir, nature, nonfiction.
By chapter two, in order to more fully explore her hunch that silence is. Sara maitland must be the least likely candidate for the life of a silent hermit that i have ever met. Apr 12, 2017 a book of silence by sara maitland is about her quest to explore the mysteries of silence, both personal and universal. In her late forties, after a noisy upbringing as one of six children and adulthood as a vocal feminist and mother, sara maitland found herself living alone in the country and, to her surprise, falling in love with silence. A book of silence grapples with ideas at the very heart of what it is to be human, and sara maitland is a joyous. Jan 08, 2017 a book of silence by sara maitland posted on january 8, 2017 by bookbii i spent a lot of time thinking about the kind of books i wanted to focus on in my attempt to read more slowly, and it wasnt too long before sara maitlands a book of silence found itself rising to the top of the pile. The desire to break the silence with constant human noise is, i believe, precisely an avoidance of the sacred terror of. Sara maitland in her late forties, after a noisy upbringing as one of six children and an adulthood as a vocal feminist and mother, sara maitland found herself living alone in the country and, to her surprise. Over the past five years, she has spent periods of silence in the sinai desert, the australian bush, and the isle of skye. Sara maitland is a novelist and short story writer. A book for silence records a brave and adventurous psychological journey that will speak to all who have doubts about our increasingly overmaterialistic society.
A book of silence quotes by sara maitland goodreads. The more and the longer you are silent the more you hear the tiny noises within the silence, so that silence itself is always slipping away like a timid wild animal. Moving to scotland into a solitary house on the remote moors of galloway, sara maitland now lives the life of quiet she celebrates in her latest book, a book of silence. Sara maitland after a noisy upbringing as one of six children, and adulthood as a vocal feminist and mother, sara maitland began to crave silence. A book of silence by sara maitland is about her quest to explore the mysteries of silence, both personal and universal. Sara maitland project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. A novelist, she is also known for her short stories.
A book of silence sara maitland counterpoint hardcover 320 pages september 2009. A book of silence by sara maitland books the guardian. A book of silence kindle edition by maitland, sara. A book of silence by sara maitland posted on january 8, 2017 by bookbii i spent a lot of time thinking about the kind of books i wanted to focus on in my attempt to read more slowly, and it wasnt too long before sara maitlands a book of silence found itself rising to the top of the pile. Sara maitland born 27 february 1950, london is a british writer of religious fantasy.
Since 2000, british writer sara maitland has been investigating, searching for, reaching for silence. Shes a catholic hermit and a writer two disciplines that are difficult to merge, as the quote above might suggest and basically lives a life that i find hugely appealing, at least some of the time. The book is an examination of the importance of silence, its cultural history, and the aversion contemporary society has to it. Sara maitlands search for silence and solitude turns into an intriguing spiritual quest which takes the reader deep into her inner thoughts and fears. However, in 2000, she decided to embrace silence to reach a deeper self and a fullness that she found terrifyingly satisfying. The narrative benefits from her wealth of research without ever feeling. She cites polar explorers, solo roundtheworld sailors, and idealistic young chris mccandless, who went alone into the alaskan wilderness and died. In this fascinating, intelligent, and beautifully written book. It was the beginning of a book of silence that built itself slowly over the next eight years. In this fascinating, intelligent, beautifully written book, maitland describes how she set out to explore this new love, spending periods of silence in the sinai desert. A book of silence grapples with ideas at the very heart of what it is to be human, and sara maitland is a joyous champion of the countercultural notion that silence is more than simply an absence of noise the times maitland s experience has been rich and thorough, and deeply enviable. I say if there is such a thing because, as author sara maitland discovered, there is some sound everywhere. She fell in love with the silence, and in this profound, frank memoir she describes how she.
See all 4 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. A personal and cultural exploration of silence and its value in our livesan artful book, mixing autobiography, travel writing, meditation, and essay independent, uk. Sara maitland has scaled the heights or is it depths. We live in a noisy world, and true silence, if there is such a thing, is hard to come by. Nov 14, 2008 maitland is not unaware of the paradox that by writing a book, especially a storytellers book, wherein language is a means of telling, shes going to invade the very silence she recommends. Introverts who read sara maitlands new book about silence may need to recommit themselves to the commandment not to covet. As a practising christian and a writer, she values silence and the way it opens up a space within. She has undertaken writer residencies at hmp ashwell and at lincoln cathedral. In the first chapter, maitland is sitting on the porch of her house on a high moor in englands county durham on a warm october morning, with nothing in my diary for the next fortnight.
A book of silence by sara maitland, paperback barnes. Her book is probably unique in its subject, and timely. By chapter two, in order to more fully explore her hunch that. Born in 1950, she grew up in galloway, studied at oxford university and currently tutors on the distance learning ma in creative writing for lancaster university and is the mentor coordinator for crossing borders. Nov 20, 2012 sara maitland must be the least likely candidate for the life of a silent hermit that i have ever met. The silence of the desert is very different from that of a forest.
Apart from smoking dope and not inhaling, what else did he learn over here. The 62yearold prizewinning novelist crams more into our 90 minutes than the reduced. Sara maitland books list of books by author sara maitland. Originally spelt sarah maitland, she was the second of six children to an uppermiddle class london family, which she has described as very open and noisy. She moved to skye, in the desert, in weardale, and finally in an isolated cottage in galloway, and her memoir travelled with her. Like the sinai, where she has found the sacred stillness of god, the deserts of the southwestern u. Sara maitland is the author of numerous works of fiction, including the somerset maugham awardwinning daughters of jerusalem and several nonfiction books about religion including a big enough god. Jun 28, 2010 introverts who read sara maitlands new book about silence may need to recommit themselves to the commandment not to covet. Over the past five years, she has spent periods of silence in the. A book of silence grapples with ideas at the very heart of what it is to be human, and sara maitland is a joyous champion of the countercultural notion that silence is more than simply an absence of noise the times maitlands experience has been rich and thorough, and deeply enviable. A book for silence records a brave and adventurous psychological journey that will speak to all who have doubts. Apr 04, 2012 thank you for sara maitlands article on the power of desert silence in pursuit of silence, april 18. That sound can be a lifesaver, preventing those who have been forced to live in isolation from going mad. Sara maitland grew up in a noisy household, where the children were encouraged to voice their opinions.
See all books authored by sara maitland, including a book of silence, and how to be alone, and more on. The talk was hosted by the leicester centre for creative. Aug 08, 2018 since 2000, british writer sara maitland has been investigating, searching for, reaching for silence. In her late forties, after a noisy upbringing as one of six children and adulthood as a vocal feminist and mother, sara maitland found herself living alone in the country, and, to her surprise, falling in love with silence. She loved talking, so much so that she says her hobby was depnisophy skill at. She writes about how the quality of silence changes with the landscape. A book of silence in her late forties, after a noisy upbringing as one of six children and adulthood as a vocal feminist and mother, sara maitland found herself living alone in the country and, to her surprise, falling in love with silence. She fell in love with the silence, and in this profound, frank memoir she describes how she explored this new love, searching for silence and solitude. Eight years through the stillongoing process, she wrote about her endeavor in a book of silence. Maitland begins her encounter with silence by spending 40 days and nights alone in a house on the isolated isle of skye. Over the past five years, she has spent periods of silence in the sinai desert, the australian bush, and a remote cottage on the isle of skye. Unfortunately, many of these vast desert places are under siege.
Sara maitlands book is an earnest and deep exploration of the nature and cultural significance of silence. Micaela maftei university of glasgow sara maitland has a clearly defined goal in her present life. Sara weaves together her own journey with thoughts and quotes from those who have made this journey before her, especially the desert fathers. The best books on silence five books expert recommendations. See all 8 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. Rather than something that enriches, it is seen as an absence, a lack. By means of a series of real life experiments the author also tries to find out what it takes to put silence at the heart of a creative life. Book of silence paperback 2 september 2010 by sara maitland author 4. The book is not all about maitlands own experience.
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