Cover Reveal for new edited collection
Stories from Gaelic and Taiwanese
Hello, I’m Dr Will Buckingham. I’m a writer and philosopher based in Tainan, Taiwan. My most recent book, “Hello, Stranger” (Granta 2022) was a BBC Radio4 Book of the Week. I co-direct Wind&Bones, a social enterprise dedicated to writing and social change.
Latest news and updates
Stories from Gaelic and Taiwanese
Public workshop as part of TBL writing reisdency
At the Taiwan Literature Base in Taipei
A Scottish Government funded project translating between Gaelic and Tâi-gí
An article in The Dial on language suppression and revivial in Taiwan
Translating for the National Taiwan Museum
Thinking about dance, metaphor and philosophy
A review article in the International Journal of Asian Studies
Reviews in the national and international media:
Review of THE SNORGH AND THE SAILOR
Simply written, with a subtleness that adds sophistication to a picture book, Buckingham has shown that he has a tender touch… There is just a hint of poignancy in this beautifully illustrated book… It’s a book to treasure.
Review of FINDING OUR SEA-LEGS
The book is unconventional in form: written in colloquial English with little jargon. It tells many stories: about talking fish, million-year-old princesses, and the need to lower your mast as you near the horizon, lest your boat get stuck between the sky and the sea. _Finding our Sea-Legs_ is also unconventional in content. It is one of very few books about a key problem in contemporary philosophy: the tension between the urgency of ethics and their inherent ambiguity.
Review of LEVINAS, STORYTELLING, AND ANTI-STORYTELLING
An enthusiastic, vivacious and daring contribution to the dialogue between ethics and literature, and between philosophy as broader discipline and literary studies.
Review of HELLO, STRANGER
Will Buckingham has written a moving memoir of finding solace, after the death of his life partner, in travelling and talking in lands such as Myanmar that are culturally distant from his native England.
Review of HELLO, STRANGER
An elegant and moving exploration of what it means to connect with strangers turns into an elegy for a much-missed way of life... while Hello, Stranger is a beautiful meditation on the pleasures and pains of a world to which many of us yearn to return, it may also be an elegy for a world that is lost to us for some time to come.
Review of HELLO, STRANGER
A wonderful mix of history, anthropology and psychology... a marvellous, restrained study of humanity... In this era of walls and hatred of the other, it’s a necessary work.
Review of HELLO, STRANGER
A well-constructed, eloquent celebration of the traditions and rituals of hospitality and of opening your door to unknown guests.
HELLO, STRANGER, Editors' Choice
Humane and heart-warming.
Praise for HELLO, STRANGER
A glorious book, fabulously learned and funny, and filled with all manner of stirring stories.
Praise for HELLO, STRANGER
A treasure trove of all the possibilities strangers can be to each other. Read, learn and savour.
Review of HELLO, STRANGER
A book that gives you the motivation and reason to break out of your long isolation.
Review of HELLO, STRANGER
A literary, philosophical, historical, and intellectual exploration of strangeness and hospitality.
Review of STEALING WITH THE EYES
Fascinating… As a memoir, ‘Stealing With the Eyes’ is powerful. Buckingham has a wonderful eye for detail, and the tale he has woven is gripping.
Praise for HELLO, STRANGER
Buckingham provides a map for others to follow, showing that when we show kindness to strangers, we may be entertaining angels unawares.
Review of STEALING WITH THE EYES
Moving in the realms of personal travelogue and the novel, Stealing With the Eyes is a curious and always entertaining book, driven by lively dialogue with occasional dips into beautiful observations that verge on epiphany.
Review of THE SNORGH AND THE SAILOR
This book is such a delightful read, with exciting adventures involving a journey out to sea in a bathtub, great whales and desert islands and even sea monsters... The Snorgh and the Sailor was just a little bit wonderful.
Praise for THE SNORGH AND THE SAILOR
Outstanding – adventurous and quirky.
Praise for LUCY AND THE ROCKET DOG
I wish I had this book when I was a kid! It brings you on a fun adventure through the universe and sneaks in some fascinating science along the way.
Praise for THE DESCENT OF THE LYRE
This is a book that is memorable for all the right reasons. The story is gripping and highly original, and it is beautifully written.
Review of THE DESCENT OF THE LYRE
Do not mistake this for a mere retelling. This is masterful storytelling.
Review of THE DESCENT OF THE LYRE
A well-written, lyrical tale.
Review of FINDING OUR SEA-LEGS
An examination of philosophy and stories that will leave you waving, not drowning...
Review of THE SNORGH AND THE SAILOR
This is a charming book that celebrates the power of the imagination and the thrill of adventure
Review of SIXTY-FOUR CHANCE PIECES
Buckingham's stories are glimpses into worlds familiar yet somehow distant, their landscapes and cultures verging on the mythical.Eclectic, with a healthy dose of humor, the stories of Sixty-Four Chance Pieces act as provocations to consider the nature of our respective political, social and personal realities.
Review of SIXTY-FOUR CHANCE PIECES
A meandering search for meaning through a broad expanse of cultural material from Baal to Billie Holiday... This Book of Changes has made me rejoice that I am living in an age that has produced such brilliantly unconventional, refreshing, and fulfilling books.
Praise for STEALING WITH THE EYES
A beautifully written evocation of a journey into the village communities of eastern Indonesia, and a remarkable meditation on the uneasy business of travelling to foreign lands in search of stories.
Review of THE SNORGH AND THE SAILOR
Simply written, with a subtleness that adds sophistication to a picture book, Buckingham has shown that he has a tender touch… There is just a hint of poignancy in this beautifully illustrated book… It’s a book to treasure.
Review of FINDING OUR SEA-LEGS
The book is unconventional in form: written in colloquial English with little jargon. It tells many stories: about talking fish, million-year-old princesses, and the need to lower your mast as you near the horizon, lest your boat get stuck between the sky and the sea. _Finding our Sea-Legs_ is also unconventional in content. It is one of very few books about a key problem in contemporary philosophy: the tension between the urgency of ethics and their inherent ambiguity.
Review of LEVINAS, STORYTELLING, AND ANTI-STORYTELLING
An enthusiastic, vivacious and daring contribution to the dialogue between ethics and literature, and between philosophy as broader discipline and literary studies.
Review of HELLO, STRANGER
Will Buckingham has written a moving memoir of finding solace, after the death of his life partner, in travelling and talking in lands such as Myanmar that are culturally distant from his native England.
Review of HELLO, STRANGER
An elegant and moving exploration of what it means to connect with strangers turns into an elegy for a much-missed way of life... while Hello, Stranger is a beautiful meditation on the pleasures and pains of a world to which many of us yearn to return, it may also be an elegy for a world that is lost to us for some time to come.
Review of HELLO, STRANGER
A wonderful mix of history, anthropology and psychology... a marvellous, restrained study of humanity... In this era of walls and hatred of the other, it’s a necessary work.