Kith

Acclaimed writer Jay Griffiths offers a passionate defence of childhood, and mourns the loss of its 'kith' - its unique time, space and place, in Western cultures.

In her award-winning book 'Wild: an elemental journey', author Jay Griffiths explored the words and meanings that shape ideas of wildness, and argued that wildness is essential to the health of the human spirit.

While travelling the world to write Wild, Griffiths became increasingly aware of the huge differences in how childhood is experienced in various cultures. Over and again, she found herself asking - why are so many children in Euro-American cultures unhappy, and why is it that children in many traditional cultures seem happier?

Jay Griffiths visits the RSA to explore these questions, and to consider whether by consumerising childhood, and denying our children the freedoms, of space, time and deep play, we have lost sight of children’s affinity with the natural world and the essential quest element of childhood.

Speaker: Jay Griffiths, author of 'Wild: an elemental journey' and 'Kith: the riddle of the childscape'.

Chair: Gareth Evans, writer, editor and curator.