Seahorses are among the most popular species at London Zoo, and they provide a crucial barometer in measuring the health of the oceans. Yet comparatively little is known about them. Opening the third season of writers' talks at the zoo, Authors for Animals, former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion considers a creature with a rich mythical existence, and a real life that is at once beautiful, intriguing and precarious. In an event introduced by the poet Jo Shapcott, herself a passionate conservationist, a ZSL keeper tells anecdotes about seahorses’ habits and husbandry, and a ZSL scientist talks about threats to the species and work being done to support seahorses in the wild. Andrew Motion then responds to the creatures imaginatively, reading from his poetry about this curious, beguiling species, and giving us his own take on its importance to humanity.

Andrew Motion 'Consider The Seahorse'

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Andrew Motion 'Consider The Seahorse'

Royal Society Literature