Powsels and Thrums is the latest book by Alan Garner. Published by 4th Estate it is a very welcome release by one of my favourite authors. Alan Garner wrote some of the most evocative folklore based children’s novels of the last sixty years and this book goes some way in revealing how his early life influenced and shaped his future writing.

The title of the book relates to the name given for the odd ends produced by handloom weavers of which his grandfather and great grandfather were ones and so this is a collection of ‘odd ends’ of writing, dedicated to the memory of his grandfather who passed in 1955.

There is a remarkable chapter on his friendship with the mathematician/scientist Alan Turing, along with the history of Alderley Edge and the medieval house he famously made his home in the 1970s.

Garner is a complex man, his output less than prolific but his writing all the better for it. In the book he describes how the seeds for a new novel are planted, often, as in the case of Treacle Walker by a throwaway comment from a friend.

All of his work comes from the land and the people who worked it, he pays great service to his and our ancestors, both real and mythological and this book is no exception. Be it a family member or a teacher, each are remembered with respect and gratitude. Now in his 90th year it is remarkable that he continues to write and remind us of the spirit of our ancestors.

See also The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and The Voice that Thunders for further posts on Alan Garner.