It’s not unusual to feel that our connection to the world around us has become frayed.

The coronavirus pandemic was likely the most extreme case of that growing disconnect in recent memory. We were severed from each other, often prisoners in our own towns and cities, if not our very homes, and the world receded for each of us. While the world has opened itself up once more and the days of lockdown are receding into memory like a bad dream, hopefully there are some who remember the videos that appeared online of nature ‘reclaiming’ our erstwhile abandoned urban environments – images of sheep and deer roaming empty town high streets across the country while we sheltered ourselves away.

More recently, there has been extensive media coverage of rivers and beaches across England and Wales being flooded with vast amounts of sewage overflow. A record breaking heatwave in 2022 saw parts of London set aflame, and wildfires in the British countryside have become progressively more common. 

Habitat, a new poetry collection from writer Bashabi Fraser explores the nature of these connections we have to our world and environments. Stemming from an imagination that bridges the divides between her both her homes – Scotland and India – Fraser’s poetry tells of the lives of cats and birds, of the changing seasons, of places near and far, and the pervasive sense of place and belonging we all experience even as we watch our world change around us. 

Luath Press: www.luath.co.uk