Celebrated writer and poet, Michael Morpurgo is the author of over one hundred books for children and is probably best known for his novel War Horse, which has enjoyed spectacular success both as a celebrated stage play and a film directed by Stephen Spielberg. A former children’s laureate, his books are popular with adults and children alike and highlight a range of historical and social issues characterised by Morpurgo’s gift for magical storytelling. In his books his heroes and heroines overcome great obstacles and in doing so entertain readers with exciting adventures and draw dropping cliff hangers. Chosen by the Manchester Literature Festival to give this year’s Castlefield Manchester Sermon at Manchester Cathedral, Morpurgo in his fascinating discourse explored our ever-diminishing connection to our natural surroundings, a theme which he has featured many times in his books, our over reliance on natural resources and our apparent blindness to what is happening to the environment around us.
As a great fan of Morpurgo’s work and in particular his role in promoting literacy development, I listened avidly to his sermon and was spurred on by a lot of what he had to say about protecting the environment. He also paid tribute to the writers who have inspired him to take an interest in and write about nature. These include poets Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes and he illustrated his admiration for both by reading their poems. Heaney’s poem, Digging, holds a particular fascination for Morpurgo as he likens the process of digging to writing. Of the writers who have inspired him he said that they shone a light on the world, the environment and changed lives forever, his being one of them.
Morpurgo finished his compelling sermon by reading a letter that he recently wrote for children about the environment. In the letter he asked children to picture the earth from space and view it as a breathing being that should not be hurt anymore. The last words of his deeply moving and poignant letter are full of optimism, “All shall be well, if we make it well.” Although written for children in the same week that saw the UN’s International Panel on Climate Change warn of catastrophic global warming, Morpurgo’s letter should be made compulsory reading for every world leader.
In the Q and A that followed his sermon, Morpurgo was predictably asked what inspired him to write War Horse. He answered by explaining that he decided to write the story after meeting a veteran of The Great War who told him about his experiences looking after horses at the Front and he was attracted to the idea of writing the story because he could feature a narrator, (Joey, a working farm horse), that experienced the War on both the English and German front lines. Morpurgo is still clearly moved by this story and also the ongoing success of War Horse and to finish the evening he appropriately sang one of the songs from the stage adaptation, Only Remembered. Not only did the song, which everyone present spontaneously joined in singing, act as a great tribute to all those who lost their lives in the First World War it also demonstrated that as well as being a great writer and communicator Morpurgo at the age of 75 is still an inspirational teacher
Presented as part of the Manchester Literature Festival this event was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the contribution that Morpurgo has made to children’s literature as well as heed his words of warning about the environment.
Reportage - Richard Hall
on - 12/10/18
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