JAY GRIFFITHS: Kith – The Riddle of the Childscape
KITH: The Riddle of the Childscape
“Kith could have been written by no one but Jay Griffiths. She has the same visionary understanding of childhood that we find in Blake and Wordsworth. Her work isn’t just good – it’s necessary.” – Philip Pullman
In a UNICEF study released in 2007, the UK came bottom of a list ranking industrialised nations in terms of child well-being. In Kith Jay Griffiths asks why that is, and through her examination of the very nature of childhood, exposes how contemporary society is denying children the time, space and place to enact their child nature, with serious consequences.
Jay Griffiths 2013
Jay Griffiths the award-winning author of Wild: An Elemental Journey, Pip Pip: A Sideways Look at Time, Anarchipelago and A Love Letter from a Stray Moon.
Born in Manchester, grew up on the outskirts of London and once lived in a shed on the outskirts of Epping Forest. She now lives in Mid Wales. After studies in English Literature at Oxford University, she travelled around the world visiting indigenous communities and learning from them. Her books are based on her learning and her travels. Griffiths has appeared in the London Review of Books and has contributed to programmes on BBC Radio 4 and the World Service. Her columns have appeared in The Guardian and The Ecologist, and since 2009 she has been a columnist for Orion magazine.[5]
Jay Griffiths has also been a contributor at many cultural events including the Adelaide Festival of Ideas, the More Than Us conference with David Abram and Scottish artists Dalziel + Scullion; the Royal Academy with artists Ackroyd & Harvey; the International Sacred Arts Festival in Delhi and has been a part of the popular Radiolab podcasts. She has also been a supporter of the Aluna project, for which she gave a talk in the Hayward Gallery in March 2007.