WHY POLESWORTH AND WHY POETRY?
The town has a tradition with poetry going back to the 16th Century along with the Abbey and coal mining, Poetry is major part of the town’s heritage.
The poets trail provides a means by which the poetic traditions can be continued, bringing new poets with new voices to explore the past and bring their words in to the present.
Polesworth town’s layout is conducive to a trail as the history from the monastic to the post industrial natural landscapes are mapped out naturally through the town allowing for a chronology of themes to be explored and expresses as you follow the trail. Creating a visitor attraction that is not imposing but leads the visitor to explore the town’s heritage in the environment in which it was created.
The Project was called Ppst - and comes from Polesworth PoetS Trail.
Phase 1 through the town – Started in July 2008 and was completed in December 2009.
The poets trail provides a means by which the poetic traditions can be continued, bringing new poets with new voices to explore the past and bring their words in to the present.
Polesworth town’s layout is conducive to a trail as the history from the monastic to the post industrial natural landscapes are mapped out naturally through the town allowing for a chronology of themes to be explored and expresses as you follow the trail. Creating a visitor attraction that is not imposing but leads the visitor to explore the town’s heritage in the environment in which it was created.
The Project was called Ppst - and comes from Polesworth PoetS Trail.
Phase 1 through the town – Started in July 2008 and was completed in December 2009.
Defining The Trail
The project brief for the poets trail which was defined by the village community and endorsed by the funders want to see the following effects.
A Poets Trail should:
A Poets Trail should:
- Promote Poetry in all forms through the permanent displays around the town.
- Both local people and visitors are encouraged to follow the trail and to view the poems and their settings.
- Be a hook to attract visitors to the area who would not otherwise have come.
- Be unimposing, such that finding the poems is an act of discovery and also does not preach to those whose interests may lie elsewhere.
- Belong to the town and it’s people and be something that they are proud to promote.
- Each poem should enhance the setting by making the reader think about its context within the landscape.
- The trail should form a foundation for other Arts and Literature activities in the town and should be an educational aid for poetry in the national curriculum.
- A trail does not need to be static in the sense that some poems may be presented in a form that can be changed from time to time.
- The Polesworth Poets Trail combines both town and country park and most importantly it will be totally new unpublished poetry from poets both local and national.
FINDING LOCATIONS FOR THE POEMS
It was decided that the trail would start at the Abbey pass through the town, over the river and on to the canal tow path where it heads up to Pooley Country Park, passing through the park and on to the Miners walk, to end at the park entrance at Alvecote.
Specific sites were chosen based upon themes of the poems, such that the monastic poems are at the abbey and the mining and nature poems are up at Pooley country park, with many other themes emerging in between, that reflect the heritage of the town.
The poems explore their settings and enhance the experience of the place.
Specific sites were chosen based upon themes of the poems, such that the monastic poems are at the abbey and the mining and nature poems are up at Pooley country park, with many other themes emerging in between, that reflect the heritage of the town.
The poems explore their settings and enhance the experience of the place.
FINDING THE POEMS
The first phase of the trail was to find eight poems plus two commissions making ten in total.
The two commissions were to Jane Holland who was Warwickshire Poet Laureate at the time and to Mal Dewhirst who was the project instigator and led all the project activities.
The remaining eight poems were found through a competition, held in the autumn of 2008, which was initially aimed at local poets, but due to social media and the wide reach of the internet, entries came from all over the UK and beyond with poets from America and Australia who had links with Polesworth also contributing.
In total there were 105 entries which were all submitted anonymously.
To help poets with the themes and ideas it was suggested that poets might build on the poetry traditions of Polesworth either as modern interpretations to sit along side the original or using the techniques of the earlier poets to create new poetry.
We ran poetry workshops to help people hone their skills and also made a nationwide call to poets to submit entries for consideration.
The poems were shortlisted by a panel and the people most closely associated with the site chose the final poems.
We felt that we needed to build a trail that has integrity and therefore ensure that the poems were suitable in terms of quality and also accessibility of language.
The poems should seek to enhance their setting and not merely describe it.
The chosen Poets received a financial stipend.
The theme headings that were given were:
The two commissions were to Jane Holland who was Warwickshire Poet Laureate at the time and to Mal Dewhirst who was the project instigator and led all the project activities.
The remaining eight poems were found through a competition, held in the autumn of 2008, which was initially aimed at local poets, but due to social media and the wide reach of the internet, entries came from all over the UK and beyond with poets from America and Australia who had links with Polesworth also contributing.
In total there were 105 entries which were all submitted anonymously.
To help poets with the themes and ideas it was suggested that poets might build on the poetry traditions of Polesworth either as modern interpretations to sit along side the original or using the techniques of the earlier poets to create new poetry.
We ran poetry workshops to help people hone their skills and also made a nationwide call to poets to submit entries for consideration.
The poems were shortlisted by a panel and the people most closely associated with the site chose the final poems.
We felt that we needed to build a trail that has integrity and therefore ensure that the poems were suitable in terms of quality and also accessibility of language.
The poems should seek to enhance their setting and not merely describe it.
The chosen Poets received a financial stipend.
The theme headings that were given were:
- Polesworth Heritage
- Polesworth Place and Space
- Contemporary Matters
- Global Village.
DISPLAYING THE POEMS
They could be complete poems or a few lines from a poem.
Displayed on materials that will not deteriorate easily due to the weather and could be maintained to keep the trail relevant, such as:
Displayed on materials that will not deteriorate easily due to the weather and could be maintained to keep the trail relevant, such as:
- plaques or enclosed posters
- tiles
- glass
- sculptures
- benches
- installations
About Planet Art
Julie Edwards & Ron Thompson are Planet Art – an arts partnership based in the Midlands who have worked together for over twenty years.
Their practice covers many areas: experienced artists creating work for the public realm, delivering complex projects with multiple agencies. The work often linked to large scale redevelopment programmes, heritage and conservation projects, working closely with planners, architects, highways agency, developers. Managing and implementing consultation, design, planning applications, complete fabrication, and installation.
Julie and Ron worked closely with the project team to design and create the ten unique pieces that form the first phase of the poetry trail.
Their practice covers many areas: experienced artists creating work for the public realm, delivering complex projects with multiple agencies. The work often linked to large scale redevelopment programmes, heritage and conservation projects, working closely with planners, architects, highways agency, developers. Managing and implementing consultation, design, planning applications, complete fabrication, and installation.
Julie and Ron worked closely with the project team to design and create the ten unique pieces that form the first phase of the poetry trail.
Press Release From Advantage West Midlands (AWM)
West Midlands Market Towns promise a ‘Better Welcome’.
The Warwickshire market town of Polesworth is boosting its tourism image by creating a poetry trail that pays homage to its links with key historic writers, including William Shakespeare.
Polesworth is one of 28 market towns in the West Midlands region to receive a £25,000 grant as part of a £1 million “Better Welcome” campaign to improve their tourism appeal, funded by regional development agency Advantage West Midlands.
The Polesworth Poets Trail will run around the town centre. Different art installations will be added along the trail throughout 2009, matching themes from a selection of existing poems.
The grant will also fund a series of workshops based on developing writing skills, giving local people the chance to create a poem to appear on the trail. A national poetry competition will help the project achieve greater exposure.
The English poet Michael Drayton (1563-1631) spent his childhood in the town before rising to prominence with his work during the Elizabethan era, and there is a popular literary theory that William Shakespeare was educated at Polesworth.
Malcolm Dewhirst, Project Manager for the Polesworth Poets Trail, said: “The trail rekindles the traditions of poetry in the town through the setting of new and existing poems into the town landscape.
“Michael Drayton was a friend of William Shakespeare and playwrights John Donne and Ben Johnson. He penned ‘To the Anchor’, part of a collection of 64 sonnets which were a declaration of love for the daughter of his patron, Sir Henry Goodere at Polesworth Hall. Sadly, his love was unrequited and he died a bachelor. But Drayton’s description of the river is still as true today as it was then.
“This is just one of the poems that will help create a unique tourist attraction that will not only promote the town but also provide a creative focus for poets nationwide.”
Mike O’Brien, MP for North Warwickshire, said: “Polesworth is a great place to live in and to visit. It has a lively history and even some local people are unaware of that. I am delighted by this initiative. It will raise awareness about Polesworth and the surrounding area. Well done to AWM for funding this.”
Phil Roberts, partnerships director at Advantage West Midlands, said: “Developing and investing in our market towns is absolutely essential for the development of our region. Market towns are vital hubs and provide crucial services for the communities they serve.
“The Better Welcome programme is assisting many towns by making their tourism offer even better, perhaps by uncovering ‘hidden gems’ that tourists might not otherwise find. It’s also encouraging local people and interest groups to play an active role in the future success and prosperity of their town.”
Background research for the Better Welcome programme started in summer 2007, with a specialist audit of each market town’s tourism assets, including a visitor survey of around 150 people per town, to understand the strengths and weaknesses of their tourism offer.
Each town has developed a Better Welcome Action Plan and the £25,000 grant from Advantage West Midlands will kick-start the plan delivery.
The Warwickshire market town of Polesworth is boosting its tourism image by creating a poetry trail that pays homage to its links with key historic writers, including William Shakespeare.
Polesworth is one of 28 market towns in the West Midlands region to receive a £25,000 grant as part of a £1 million “Better Welcome” campaign to improve their tourism appeal, funded by regional development agency Advantage West Midlands.
The Polesworth Poets Trail will run around the town centre. Different art installations will be added along the trail throughout 2009, matching themes from a selection of existing poems.
The grant will also fund a series of workshops based on developing writing skills, giving local people the chance to create a poem to appear on the trail. A national poetry competition will help the project achieve greater exposure.
The English poet Michael Drayton (1563-1631) spent his childhood in the town before rising to prominence with his work during the Elizabethan era, and there is a popular literary theory that William Shakespeare was educated at Polesworth.
Malcolm Dewhirst, Project Manager for the Polesworth Poets Trail, said: “The trail rekindles the traditions of poetry in the town through the setting of new and existing poems into the town landscape.
“Michael Drayton was a friend of William Shakespeare and playwrights John Donne and Ben Johnson. He penned ‘To the Anchor’, part of a collection of 64 sonnets which were a declaration of love for the daughter of his patron, Sir Henry Goodere at Polesworth Hall. Sadly, his love was unrequited and he died a bachelor. But Drayton’s description of the river is still as true today as it was then.
“This is just one of the poems that will help create a unique tourist attraction that will not only promote the town but also provide a creative focus for poets nationwide.”
Mike O’Brien, MP for North Warwickshire, said: “Polesworth is a great place to live in and to visit. It has a lively history and even some local people are unaware of that. I am delighted by this initiative. It will raise awareness about Polesworth and the surrounding area. Well done to AWM for funding this.”
Phil Roberts, partnerships director at Advantage West Midlands, said: “Developing and investing in our market towns is absolutely essential for the development of our region. Market towns are vital hubs and provide crucial services for the communities they serve.
“The Better Welcome programme is assisting many towns by making their tourism offer even better, perhaps by uncovering ‘hidden gems’ that tourists might not otherwise find. It’s also encouraging local people and interest groups to play an active role in the future success and prosperity of their town.”
Background research for the Better Welcome programme started in summer 2007, with a specialist audit of each market town’s tourism assets, including a visitor survey of around 150 people per town, to understand the strengths and weaknesses of their tourism offer.
Each town has developed a Better Welcome Action Plan and the £25,000 grant from Advantage West Midlands will kick-start the plan delivery.
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Address: The Clerk, The Tithe Barn, Hall Court, Bridge Street, Polesworth, B78 1DT Telephone: 01827 892320 |