The Explorer's Daughter
The Explorer’s Daughter
Biography of Kari Herbert:
The daughter of polar explorer, Sir Wally Herbert, Herbert spent the first few years of her life living on a remote island in the Arctic with the Inuit of Greenland.
Her first language was Inuktun, the local language of Greenland. At the age of four Herbert accompanied her parents on a journey that took them through winter blizzards in a caravan to spend time with the Sami of Lapland. She has continued to travel there ever since.
Poem description/criticism:
The Explorer's Daughter is that rare thing - a tale of the Arctic that actually makes the reader want to go there. It is an impressive book, slow-cooked and richly imagined. Rather than attempting to set speed records, perhaps other polar writers should spend more time in the land they are travelling through.
Kari Herbert’s parents aren’t exactly run of the mill. Her father, Sir Wally Herbert is a famous Polar explorer and her mother Marie, an accomplished author.
When she was just ten months old Sir Wally took his young family to live in the High Arctic amongst the remote tribes of Polar Inuit hunters. Kari’s first words were in Inuktun and her small family quickly grew to include an Inuit Grandfather, Aunts, Uncles and many local brothers and sisters.
Kari grew up practicing the ways of the Inuit, understanding the fine balance between man and nature and believing that she too belonged to this desolate, but beautiful land. In 2002, after years of residing in London as a successful photographer and travel writer, Kari returned to the Arctic in an attempt to understand her roots, trace her Inuit family and quell the calling of the ice.
This tale of rediscovery is as painful as it is magical as Herbert encounters a people torn between their ancient traditions and the seductions of the modern world. Her last wilderness now contaminated by alcohol, pop music and pre-fabricated housing. Herbert’s absorbing narrative interlaces a perfect balance
Biography of Kari Herbert:
The daughter of polar explorer, Sir Wally Herbert, Herbert spent the first few years of her life living on a remote island in the Arctic with the Inuit of Greenland.
Her first language was Inuktun, the local language of Greenland. At the age of four Herbert accompanied her parents on a journey that took them through winter blizzards in a caravan to spend time with the Sami of Lapland. She has continued to travel there ever since.
Poem description/criticism:
The Explorer's Daughter is that rare thing - a tale of the Arctic that actually makes the reader want to go there. It is an impressive book, slow-cooked and richly imagined. Rather than attempting to set speed records, perhaps other polar writers should spend more time in the land they are travelling through.
Kari Herbert’s parents aren’t exactly run of the mill. Her father, Sir Wally Herbert is a famous Polar explorer and her mother Marie, an accomplished author.
When she was just ten months old Sir Wally took his young family to live in the High Arctic amongst the remote tribes of Polar Inuit hunters. Kari’s first words were in Inuktun and her small family quickly grew to include an Inuit Grandfather, Aunts, Uncles and many local brothers and sisters.
Kari grew up practicing the ways of the Inuit, understanding the fine balance between man and nature and believing that she too belonged to this desolate, but beautiful land. In 2002, after years of residing in London as a successful photographer and travel writer, Kari returned to the Arctic in an attempt to understand her roots, trace her Inuit family and quell the calling of the ice.
This tale of rediscovery is as painful as it is magical as Herbert encounters a people torn between their ancient traditions and the seductions of the modern world. Her last wilderness now contaminated by alcohol, pop music and pre-fabricated housing. Herbert’s absorbing narrative interlaces a perfect balance