The Language of Trees

‘A hit far beyond these shores, this compendium … sparked something of a movement with its ingenious, affection-laden “tree alphabet”.’ Irish Independent, Books of the Year 2023

‘A thing of beauty… visually and cerebrally immersive.’ Sunday Independent

‘immersive, celebratory and timely … beautifully illustrated by Holten’ The Observer

‘A masterpiece’ Max Porter

‘A visual reminder that, like strong oaks from little acorns, we still can create the world in which we wish to live.’ Kerri ní Dochartaigh



‘A thoughtful and incisive view of Nature across the globe.’ The Countryman

‘One of the most inspired items of environmental literature in recent years.’ Irish Independent

‘an exceptional compendium of arboreal art, prose and poetry. In exploring what could be a weighty issue in the current climate emergency, the tone is awe, not doom … A forest of writing to be cherished’ Irish Times

Katie Holten is an artist and activist, born in Ireland and now mainly living in the USA. In 2003, she represented Ireland at the Venice Biennale. She has had solo exhibitions at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, and Dublin City Gallery: The Hugh Lane.

Her drawings investigate the tangled relationships between humans and the natural world. She has created Tree Alphabets, a Stone Alphabet, and a Wildflower Alphabet to share the joy she finds in her love of the more-than-human world. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Artforum, and frieze. She is a visiting lecturer at the New School of the Anthropocene. If she could be a tree, she would be an Oak.

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