Long Field: A memoir

The Long Field by Petro explores the concept of hiraeth, a deep longing for something lost or left behind, and how it manifests in the lives of individuals and the culture of Wales. It combines personal experiences with traditional and innovative perspectives on hiraeth, highlighting its significance in Welsh culture and its role as a source of creativity.

\n Format: Hardback
\n \n Publication date: 14 September 2021
\n Publisher: Little Toller Books
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The Long Field delves deeply into the Welsh countryside, exploring how this small country became an integral part of an American writer's life. Author Petro weaves her story around that of Wales, using the lens of hiraeth, a quintessential Welsh word renowned for its difficulty in translation. While the English approximation of homesickness may suffice, hiraeth encompasses a profound longing for someone or something—a home, culture, language, a younger self—that has been lost or left behind. This longing extends beyond mere homesickness and becomes a name for the deep, bone-deep yearning felt for those departed elements of our lives.

Hiraeth is embodied by the legendary King of the Once and Future, Arthur, yet it never manifests in the present. Instead, it serves as a profound acknowledgment of the presence of absence in our lives. Through The Long Field, Petro intricately weaves her personal experiences of hiraeth—as an American who yearns for Wales, a gay woman in a same-sex relationship, a survivor of a horrific train crash, and the daughter of a parent with dementia—into the essential hiraeth stories of Wales.

Petro examines hiraeth in both traditional and innovative ways, exploring queer hiraeth, the hiraeth of technology, ancestry, minorities, the environment, and politics in the age of Brexit and Trump. Her exploration of hiraeth extends beyond mere awareness of loss and longing, evolving into a creative response to absence and loss. Petro sees this as the genius of Welsh culture and the wellspring of all creativity.

The Long Field offers a captivating journey through the landscapes and narratives of Wales, shedding light on the profound connection between the country and the writer's personal journey. It serves as a testament to the enduring power of hiraeth and the transformative potential of acknowledging and embracing the presence of absence in our lives.

\n Weight: 700g\n
Dimension: 292 x 265 x 38 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9781908213853\n \n