Dawn: The World of First Light

Go out into the fields and woods, the parks and riverside at dawn, before humans properly stir and you will witness not the wonder of ‘the rising sun’, but also much more. You will see the fox trotting home, the hare in the corn washing her face; and the birds at song. The hour of dawn is a shift change, when the nocturnal things begin their sleep, the diurnal ones start awakening. The greatest miracle of dawn in the modern age? The world still belongs to the animals, few humans are about or have time to witness it. There is magic in the dawn.

But while the break of day is when the dark hours are banished, it is also when battles start and executions take place. It is the end of a great night. And when the day of work begins. It is also an illusion. The sun does not rise, the Earth tilts.

Exploring the importance of dawn to our history, art and culture, and including poetry and lists of pertinent art and music, Dawn is a unique exploration into the liminal hours at the start of the day.

© John Lewis-Stempel 2027 (P) Penguin Audio 2027