Presenters go back to nature with support for literary project
Two of the nation’s most celebrated naturalists will have their voices heard by literary fans across the globe this Christmas thanks to a project led by Plymouth University. Sir David Attenborough, who is this year celebrating 60 years in broadcasting, and Mark Carwardine, who starred in the BBC series Last Chance to See, have both recorded chapters for the Moby-Dick Big Read. The ambitious literary project, hosted by Peninsula Arts at Plymouth University, sees celebrities, scientists and members of the public reading a chapter from Herman Melville’s famous 1851 novel. Philip Hoare, artist in residence at Plymouth University’s Marine Institute, co-curated the project alongside artist Angela Cockayne, from Bath Spa University. He said: “Moby-Dick remains the most extraordinary book ever written on the subject of the whale. How fitting that two of our best known naturalists - Sir David Attenborough and Mark Carwadine - both intimate with the whales of the world - should contribute these intensely moving readings from Melville's book for the Big Read. Since its launch at the Plymouth International Book Festival in September, those readings have been listened to almost 1.5 million times on the SoundCloud website. The readers so far have included Prime Minister David Cameron, ‘national treasure’ Stephen Fry, actors Simon Callow and Tilda Swinton, and Pet Shop Boys lead singer Neil Tennant. Sir David Attenborough joined the BBC as a trainee producer in 1952, and has gone on to present some of the most celebrated nature programmes of the past six decades. His chapter – Does the Whale’s Magnitude Diminish?
