In her acclaimed memoir "H Is for Hawk," author Helen Macdonald reflects on the shock and depression she experienced at the unexpected death of her father. The two had a close bond, marked by their mutual fascination with nature.
Thrown by her loss and struggling with depression Macdonald, an experienced falconer, chose to train a notoriously difficult-to-handle raptor, a Northern Goshawk. She called her Mabel.
“The hawk was everything I wanted to be: solitary, self-possessed, free from grief, and numb to the hurts of human life.”
Macdonald spoke at Benaroya Hall on February 1 as part of Seattle Arts & Lectures Literary/Arts Series. The program opened with WITS poet Cordelia Christian reading her poem "Hemlockwing."
Sonya Harris recorded her talk.
Listen to the full version below:
