Books About the Sea: A Wild Eye Reading List

The sea has always been a source of wonder, mystery, and inspiration, and at a recent Wild Eye event in Scarborough, Alice Sharp, Invisible Dust’s Artistic Director, and marine biologist Magnus Johnson, delved into its depths—both literal and literary. Through an engaging conversation, enriched by audience contributions, they explored the ever-changing relationship between humans and the sea.

Alice read excerpts of Rachel Carson’s and Matthew Arnold’s poems and invited contributions from the audience of books about the sea they found inspiring. The discussion led to a remarkable reading list, featuring books from those that capture the beauty, power, and enigma of the sea to wonderful children’s stories. As Rachel Carson wrote in The Edge of the Sea in 1955: “To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist moving over a great salt marsh, is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be.”

If you’re inspired to explore the sea through literature, we recommend checking out your own library, second hand bookshop or charity shop. In Scarborough there is a Town Centre Library and the delightful Mrs Lofthouse’s Emporium, with a large marine section where you might find some of these gems.

For Adults:

• The Edge of the Sea – Rachel Carson (1955) (quoted by Alice Sharp in the event recording)
• The Summer Book – Tove Jansson
• How to Speak Whale: A Voyage into the Future of Animal Communication – Tom Mustill
• Saltwater in the Blood – Easkey Britton (Irish surfer and marine social scientist)
• The Wreck of the Torrey Canyon – Crispin Gill, Frank Booker, Tony Soper
• Kraken – China Miéville (Invisible Dust collaborator – see Offshore: Artists Explore the Sea)
• Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea – Jules Verne
• Moby-Dick – Herman Melville
• Dover Beach – Matthew Arnold (poem quoted by Alice Sharp)

For Children:

• Priscilla and the Prawn
• The Octonauts
• Disney’s Nemo
• Sally and the Limpet

“The sea is everything. It covers seven tenths of the terrestrial globe. Its breath is pure and healthy. It is an immense desert, where man is never lonely, for he feels life stirring on all sides.” – Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea – Jules Verne

For more inspiration, listen to the Wild Eye: The Wonders of Yorkshire’s Seas event recording.

Related Invisible Dust Projects about nature and the sea:

Many of the themes discussed in the talk connect to past and ongoing Invisible Dust projects, including:

• UnNatural History – Rethinking natural history and its impact today.
• Shore: How We See the Sea – Western Scotland.
• Offshore: How We See the Sea – Hull.
• Sea Change – Royal Docks, London.
• Sea Songs – Scarborough.

Wild Eye is an inspiring art and nature programme celebrating the North Yorkshire Coast’s remarkable wildlife and marine environment. Featuring international artists including Ryan Gander, Paul Morrison, Shezad Dawood, Emma Smith, and Jeremy Deller.

Wild Eye is delivered in partnership with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, a regional environmental charity, and Invisible Dust, a UK-based art-science-climate organisation.