The Draw of the Sea

Description

Wyl Menmuir’s The Draw of the Sea is a beautifully written and deeply moving portrait of the Cornish Coast and the people who make their livings there, examining the ephemeral but universal pull the sea holds over the human imagination.‘A beautiful portrait of lives shaped by the swell of ocean and tide – a powerful salt-thread of connection’ -  Raynor Winn, author of The Salt Path Since the earliest stages of human development, the sea has fascinated and entranced us. It feeds us, sustaining communities and providing livelihoods, but it also holds immense destructive power which can take all those away in an instant.
 
It connects us to far away places, offering the promise of new lands and voyages of discovery, but also shapes our borders, carving divisions between landmasses and eroding the very ground beneath our feet. In this beautifully-written meditation on what it is that draws us to the waters' edge, author Wyl Menmuir tells the stories of the people whose lives revolve around the sea in the Cornish community where he lives.
In twelve interlinked chapters, Menmuir explores the lives of local fishermen steeped in the rich traditions of a fishing community, the beachcombers who wander the shores in search of the varied objects which wash ashore and the stories they tell, and all number of others who have made their lives on the beautiful Cornwall coast.  In the specifics of these livelihoods and their rich histories and traditions, Wyl Menmuir captures the universal human connection to the sea. Into this seductive tapestry, Wyl weaves the story of how the sea has beckoned, consoled and restored him.
This book is a meaningful and moving work into how we interact with the environment around us, and how it comes to shape the course of our lives. As unmissable as it is compelling, as profound as it is personal, this must-read book will delight anyone familiar with the intimate and powerful pull which the sea holds over us. Wyl Menmuir’s The Draw of the Sea is a book about the fisherman, surfers, swimmers, beachcombers, conservationists, sailors and boatbuilders who make their living on the Cornish Coast.
The Draw of the Sea will evoke both the specific and the universal appeal of the sea in the same way that James Rebanks evoked both the specific and the universal in The Shepherd’s Life: A Tale of the Lake District.
 

Wyl Menmuir is a novelist, editor and literary consultant based in Cornwall. He is the author of the Man-Booker nominated novel and Observer Best Fiction of the year pick,The Many, and Fox Fires. His short fiction has appeared in Best British Short Stories and he has been published by Nightjar Press, Kneehigh Theatre and the National Trust. 

​He has written for Radio 4’s Open Book, The Guardian and The Observer, and is a regular contributor to the journal Elementum.

​Born in Stockport in 1979, Wyl now lives in Cornwall with his wife and two children. He is co-creator of the Cornish writing centre, The Writers’ Block, and works with Arvon Foundation, National Literacy Trust and Centre for Literacy in Primary Education on national literacy programmes, as well as lecturer in creative writing at Falmouth University.

​When he is not writing or teaching writing, Wyl enjoys messing around in boats. 

Map
1. St Randline Gleaner-Beachcombing & wrecking around Cornwall’s coast
2. Island Fisher-Eel fishing & lobster potting in St Martin’s & St Agnes
3. Rock Pool Pilgrim -Spring tide on the north coast
4. Depth Plumber-Freediving off the Lizard Peninsula
5. Caul Child-Making handplanes & bellyboards in Porthtowan
6. Wind Worker-Running away to sea
7. Memory Keeper-Searching for cowrie shells
8. Wave Rider-Surfing Cornwall’s Badlands
9. Ocean Wanderer-Watching a walrus in St Mary’s
10. Dawn Patroller-Swimming in St Ives
11. Oar Raiser-Pilot gig rowing in Mount’s Bay
12. Horizon Scanner-Wildlife watching at St Agnes Head
13. Song line Shaper-Beach art at Porthcurno
A Glossary of Sea Words
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgements
  ‘Light and wonder illuminate the pages of this magical book, a fitting tribute to the majesty and mystery of the sea’  The Observer ‘Wyl Menmuir explores the different ways in which people can be drawn to the sea, content to leave it a mystery why they are drawn – and perhaps the mystery is the point.’ The Spectator
  ‘Wyl Menmuir poetically explores our fascination with and dependence on the sea. He talks to fishermen, beachcombers, surfers and other locals about living their lives by the tides, and explores his own personal emotional connection to the water.’ Wanderlust magazine
  'A beautiful exploration of how the ocean shapes and intrigues us' Lovereading.
  ‘A beautiful portrait of lives shaped by the swell of ocean and tide – a powerful salt-thread of connection’ Raynor Winn, author of The Salt Path ‘Sometimes a book comes along that could have been written just for you. This is how I feel about The Draw of The Sea by Wyl Menmuir, a work of enormous grace and humanity that pulls us to the deep and gently returns us home’ Emma Stonex, author of The Lamplighters  
‘Beautiful, intriguing, salt-tanged, this wonderful book has the power to transport us to the ocean. If you can’t get to the sea, Wyl’s book is the next best thing.’
Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of Dear Reader and The Last Act of Love  
‘The Draw of the Sea is immersive and inviting and filled with people who for all sorts of reasons go to the sea, and reading it will make you want to go with them. Menmuir weaves together thoughtful portraits of people he's spent time with, the shell seekers and wave riders, swimmers, sailors, fishers and divers. He brilliantly captures the rich mix of feelings that come with being by, on and under the sea. My own love of the sea, and the Cornish coast in particular, is deepened by seeing it through the eyes of so many others.’
Helen Scales, author of The Brilliant Abyss and What a Shell Can Tell  
‘The Draw of the Sea is a richly satisfying book. Wyl Menmuir dives deep into a world of sea-souls – swimmers and surfers and sailors, birders, beachcombers and rowers – and with meditative charm addresses that perennial, unanswerable question: what makes us so oblivious to danger and discomfort and pulls us again and again to the water?’
Philip Marsden, author of The Summer Isles and Rising Ground 'There is a stillness, a patience and a clear kind of beauty to every sentence Wyl Menmuir writes. To read The Draw of the Sea is not unlike staring out at the water for some time; it works upon you gradually, leaving you, at last, with a feeling of reverence and awe at all you have witnessed.' Lamorna Ash, author of Dark, Salt, Clear