In early Autumn we publish a brilliantly surreal and thought-provoking exploration of human-animal conversation from writer, poet and publisher, Luke Thompson. It's called Domadomadoma-Blumblumblum: Conversations with Other Animals and it's out on 5th September. Luke will be taking part in a number of events this Autumn in support of the book. More info on these below!
'Luke Thompson's book is playful, provocative, at times surreal, at other times heartbreaking. He is a unique and compelling guide through conversations, real and imagined, with other beings. In places, I laughed out loud. At other times, I despaired of the human refusal to meet other animals on their own terms. But there's a bite in all this. As the main agent diminishing and destroying the lives of other species around us, learning (again) how to listen to, and converse with the rest of the living world may be one of the most important things we can do.'
Melanie Challenger, Vice President of the RSPCA and author of How to be Animal
In Doma, Luke investigates real and imagined attempts to converse with other species throughout history and culture. Spanning the ancient and modern, the scientific and the strange, his journey takes him from the stories of King Solomon and Doctor Dolittle to medieval dragon-slayers and extraterrestrial aliens, via Harvard laboratories, Caribbean Waters, and the discipline of anthrozoology.
Always eccentric and always fascinating, Domadomadoma-Blumblumblum sees Thompson navigate these peculiar landscapes - whether lowering himself into a flotation tank or training as a pet psychic - with many questions on his mind: What exactly do we want from conversations with our fellow animals? What portrait of the world do we paint when we envisage these communications? And how far are we willing to go to realise this dream?
Luke is a writer and publisher from Cornwall. His books include the poetry collection Singing About Melon (Shearsman, 2020), the long essay Rhinoceros (Broken Sleep, 2020) and A Guillemot Guide to Very Small Press Publishing (Guillemot Press, 2022). He has edited several books on Cornwall and Cornish writers, including Treasures of Cornwall (Macmillan, 2023) and Selected Poetry of Jack Clemo (Enitharmon 2015). In 2017 Luke co-founded the publisher Guillemot Press with Sarah Cave, which has a focus on poetry and beautifully-produced books. Luke is also a senior lecturer at Falmouth University, where he leads the MA Professional Writing.
The following events will be taking place this Autumn to help launch the book. We will update this page when ticket links go live and new events are confirmed.
Waterstones Truro - Wednesday 11th September
Verey Books, Ullswater - Friday 13th September
FOLDE Dorset, Shaftesbury - Thursday 19th September
Manx Literary Festival - Thursday 26th September
North Cornwall Book Festival - Saturday 28th September
Falmouth Bookseller - Wednesday 2nd October
Shrew Books, Fowey - Wednesday 9th October
Clemo Books, Newquay - Friday 11th October
Paper People Books, Yorkshire - Thursday 17th October
You can pre-order a copy of the book now from our online shop, or from your preferred bookshop. Read below for some more amazing endorsements.
'Compelling ... central to the book is the notion that, in trying to understand other creatures, we reveal most about ourselves.' The Telegraph
'A wry, intimate magpie of a narrator gathering eclectic histories, Thompson is a beguiling guide in a world enriched with the possibility of communicating with other species.'
Jen Hadfield, winner of the T.S. Eliot Prize
'An utter delight of a book - exuberant, witty and beautifully written. I look forward to discussing it with my cat.'
Wyl Menmuir, author of The Call of the Sea and The Heart of the Woods
'Sparkling, clever, kind, playful and profound: an urgently important meditation on the accessibility of other minds and worlds.'
Charles Foster, author of Being a Beast and Cry of the Wild
Comments