In the mountains of France the seasonal movement of livestock from one region to another acts as a metaphor for transition and transformation in the human world, whilst ‘humance’ relates us to the natural world; to the animals we rely on, to the seasons affecting our behaviours, our movements. And the seasons themselves are also in transition: behaving – often unpredictably – according to a cosmic order governed by strange powers: black holes, red/black/white dwarves, planets, stars.
Transhumance follows a narrative arc that recognises that we are irrelevant in our minuteness and yet central to everything; without our interference things fall apart, yet sometimes our interference is what unravels things. Exploring how humanity is rooted in and linked to everywhere and everything, David Batten brings a fresh voice and precise language to this reflective debut collection.