"The Sea Inside".
Wymondham Words Festival 2016 @WymondhamWords
Philip Hoare @philipwhale has been an inspiration for us ever since his seminal "Leviathan or the Whale" was published back in 2008. Thanks to @edward_parnell the Director of the festival for the tip off.
"Leviathan or the Whale" had a great resonance and produced a profound impact in me when I read it. I grew up in Madrid the late 70's early 90's and being the only boy in my school who did not play football, I took refuge in the library every break to endlessly copy whales from Natural History books. At 12 years old I founded what surely was the first environmental group of the "Barrio", ACOCABA (Association Against Whaling from the Spanish Asociacion Contra la Caza de Ballenas).
By 13 years old, I had produced a whole book of drawings representing all the whale species known to that date. Richard Ellis illustrations were a big source of inspiration. I could often be seen pestering other kids about the plight of the whales.
The 1982's World-cup had finished a couple of weeks earlier in Madrid with Italy defeating West Germany 3–1 but I was more interested in 23 July's agreement where members of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) voted to implement a pause on commercial whaling from 1986.
It was a very hot evening in Madrid and the the only 2 TV channels of the day were still solidly broadcasting the aftermad of the Fauklands War (Las Malvinas) and the injustice of Spain not even making it to the semi-finals. Still a couple of minutes were dedicated to the importance of the IWC agreement for the recovery of the decimated whale populations all around the world. I was a very happy boy that night.
To this day I am is still trying to find the "unpublished" whale book that I wrote more than 30 years ago. Thanks Philip for bringing all those memories back from a happy past where time was endless.
Below there is a collection of Philip's book covers both in Spain and the UK.
"The Sea Inside" English edition.
'Leviathan or the Whale" English edition.
'Leviathan or the Whale" English edition paperback.
"Leviatan o La Ballena" Edición Española.
"El Mar Interior" Edición Española.
"The Sea Inside" English Edition.