Green by Suzannah Evans

My mother was an oak tree
my dad a garage mechanic
My father was a field of wheat
my mother the Prime Minister
My mother was an innkeeper
and my father a lonely cactus…

Suzannah Evans’ new pamphlet introduces us to Green, half human, half angry nature spirit. Green serves as a stunt double for our own rage and complicity in nature’s destruction, showing us nature’s delights so we may mourn their loss more deeply.

‘Green is a contemporary secular canticle, where matter and living beings are in mischievous, polyphonic dialogue. Channelled through this beyond-human figure, it presents a decentred ecology where Green isn’t rooting for anyone – but where we must find a way to befriend him, without turning him into a man. Earth is lively and re-enchanted, in Green’s contemporary and accessible animism. We are invited to accept the majesty of llama memes alongside the death drop of species extinction. Fuck you, Green says to the wasps, stinging him all over, I still love you. A gentle, passionate, good-natured plea, for even the ickiest creatures to be named in Green’s – and humanity’s – affections.’ Caleb Parkin

‘In this delicious mini-biography of the mythic figure, Suzannah Evans conjures up a Green Man – modishly monikered ‘Green’ – who is witness, listener, accountant, cheerleader, of all and every aspect of nature. An inveterate listicle maker, he can’t help but nag us until our attention is drawn back inexorably to the wonder of the world; it’s nightmares too. Whether he is supervising extinctions, lavender farming, or picking up plastic litter on the beach, Green is unabashedly a fun, wry and playful personality to spend some time with.’ Rishi Dastidar

Bad Betty