James Rebanks Explained
James Rebanks (born 1974)[1] is an English sheep farmer and author, from Matterdale in Cumbria.[2] His first book, the autobiography The Shepherd's Life, was published in 2015,[3] and he published English Pastoral in 2020.[4] [5] He also published The Illustrated Herdwick Shepherd in 2015[6] and The Shepherd's View: Modern Photographs from an Ancient Landscape in 2016.[7]
Early life and education
Rebanks left school at the age of 16 to work on his family's farm with two GCSEs in woodworking and religious studies.[3] He took A levels at evening classes in Carlisle before studying at Magdalen College, Oxford,[3] [8] where he achieved a double first in history.[9]
Career
Following his degree, Rebanks returned to farming, which he continues to do, specialising in Herdwick sheep but moving towards a more mixed farm. He has also run a consultancy based at his farm.[10] [11] He was involved in the bid for the Lake District to receive World Heritage status (which was approved by UNESCO in 2017),[12] [13] and had a following of 141,667 on Twitter as "Herdwick Shepherd" (@herdyshepherd1).
In 2018 he resigned from a government panel set up by Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Michael Gove, and also took a break from Twitter after the composition of the panel was criticised by environmentalists as being biased towards the farming community.[14]
In 2019 he appeared on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. His chosen music included tracks by Rachmaninoff, Nina Simone, and Kirsty MacColl (the choice he would rescue from the waves); his chosen book was The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, and his luxury was pen and paper.[1] He has also appeared on BBC Radio 3's Private Passions[15] and Radio 4's On Your Farm.[16] In December 2021 he guest-edited Radio 4's Today programme.[17]
In 2021 English Pastoral won the Wainwright Prize in the Nature Writing category.[18]
Selected publications
- Book: The Shepherd's Life: A Tale of the Lake District. 2 April 2015. Allen Lane. London. 978-1846148545 . The Shepherd's Life.
- Book: The Illustrated Herdwick Shepherd. 5 November 2015. Penguin Books. London. 9781846148903.
- Book: The Shepherd's View: Modern Photographs from an Ancient Landscape. 18 October 2016. Flatiron. London. 978-1250103369.
- Book: English Pastoral: an inheritance. 3 September 2020. Allen Lane . London. 9780241245729. (published in North America as Pastoral Song: A Farmer’s Journey. 3 August 2021. Custom House.)
- Book: The Place of Tides . 17 October 2024 . Allen Lane . 978-0241426937.
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: James Rebanks, Shepherd and Writer. BBC Radio 4. Desert Island Discs. 25 January 2019. 28 December 2021.
- News: Caitlin Moran meets James Rebanks, Lake District sheep farmer turned Twitter activist. The Times. Caitlin. Moran. Caitlin Moran. 4 September 2020. 28 December 2021. 0140-0460.
- Book: Rebanks, James. The Shepherd's Life: A Tale of the Lake District. 2 April 2015. Allen Lane. London. 978-1846148545.
- Book: Rebanks, James. English Pastoral: an inheritance. 3 September 2020. Allen Lane. London. 9780241245729.
- News: English Pastoral by James Rebanks review – how to look after the land. The Guardian. Blake. Morrison. 3 September 2020. 28 December 2021.
- Book: Rebanks, James. The Illustrated Herdwick Shepherd. 5 November 2015. Penguin Books. London. 9781846148903.
- Book: Rebanks, James. The Shepherd's View: Modern Photographs from an Ancient Landscape. 18 October 2016. Flatiron Books. London. 978-1250103369.
- Web site: James Rebanks: One shepherd and his beloved Herdwick sheep. BBC Radio 4. The Shepherd's Life. People think travel broadens the mind, I'm not so sure. I think a focus on, and love of, one place can make people rather sensible, decent, and wise. 28 December 2021.
- News: The farmer and best-selling author of The Shepherd's Life talks about dealing with new-found fame. The Independent. Helen. Carter. 2 May 2015. 28 December 2021.
- Web site: About us. https://web.archive.org/web/20160327050927/http://rebanksconsultingltd.com. Rebanks Consulting Ltd. 27 March 2016. dead.
- News: Shepherd James Rebanks: 'My ambition is to be a really good nobody'. The Guardian. Kate. Kellaway. 3 May 2015. 28 December 2021.
- News: The hill farmers fighting for their livelihoods. The Daily Telegraph. Harriet. Fraser. 8 March 2014. 28 December 2021.
- News: James Rebanks, Man of Sheep, Man of Letters (Published 2015). The New York Times. Roslyn. Sulcas. 5 June 2015. 28 December 2021. 0362-4331.
- News: Twitter's favourite shepherd quits government review of National Parks after three days due to 'cretinous attacks' from environmentalists. The Daily Telegraph. 24 June 2018. 28 December 2021.
- Web site: James Rebanks. BBC Radio 3. Private Passions. 21 March 2021. 28 December 2021.
- Web site: James Rebanks, the Herdy Shepherd. BBC Radio 4. On Your Farm. 10 May 2015. 28 December 2021.
- Web site: Today. BBC Radio 4. 28 December 2021. 28 December 2021.
- News: Wainwright prize for nature writing goes to James Rebanks for English Pastoral. The Guardian. Alison. Flood. 7 September 2021. 28 December 2021.