Red Fox: a spell by Robert Macfarlane

This is a red fox spell, originally commissioned by BBC Prom, soon to be published in The Lost Spells with illustrations by Jackie Morris. The best way to do this is to learn the spell by heart and then try to use the words to make a fox appear on paper. It's not so much of a 'photographic' depiction of a fox, more 'what a fox feels like'. The spirit of wild, the spirit of weather. Outside goldfinches were singing. Not sure whether that came through in the recording. It's not easy to do, to remember all the words, and move the brush in the right direction, and lose yourself somewhere in between the paint and the words. The Lost Spells publishes 1st October 2020. It's sibling, The Lost Words, is available now, from all good bookstores. Written by Robert Macfarlane, illustrated by Jackie Morris, The Lost Words won the Hay Festival Book of the Year 2017, and in 2018 the Hay medal for illustration, and in 2019 The Greenaway Medal. With thanks to Cathy Fisher for her patience while filming. This film is dedicated to Tamsin Rosewell and Kenilworth Books, and all brilliant indie booksellers out there.