No book is ever written in isolation or stands on its own. The work of writing one might seem like a solitary endeavour given the single name on its cover, but each is indelibly and essentially shaped by countless people, places, conversations and encounters hidden just out of sight beyond the edge of the page. … Continue reading Lifelines: A book’s beginnings
I'm extremely delighted to announce that I have a new book on the way, which will be published in the UK on May 15th and in a North American edition in Spring 2026. Regular readers of my blog posts here will know that I live above the Prespa lakes, and it's this place that sits … Continue reading Lifelines: new book announcement!
This past July I had the great pleasure of recording passages from Irreplaceable around Christchurch in Dorset and on the stunning headland of Hengistbury with friend, musician and sound recordist Matthew Shaw. Utilising the natural sounds of sea, wood, wind, birds and people, we sought connective links between the places written about in the book, … Continue reading Irreplaceable: sound recordings and tour dates
The two Prespa Lakes are split by a flat isthmus, a spur of sand which pelicans glide across in summer as they swap one body of water for the other. Those two lakes, though, were once one, a single blue bowl encircled by steep slopes. Over thousands of years, silt and sediment from the mountains … Continue reading Sand, Starlings and Other Small Things
For an audio version of 'The Places That Shape Us' please click the play button Certain places follow us, like shadows. At times they lengthen and stretch implausibly tall until they tower above our lives, or slant decisively away as if trying to flee. Occasionally they appear not to be there at all - so … Continue reading The Places That Shape Us
Julian Hoffman 