Poetry stroll along the canal at Hebden Bridge
Fancy a relaxing stroll along a canal, with poems on the way and a drink at the end? Then join the Hebden Bridge Poetry Stroll, on Tuesday 21 August from 1pm-3pm with Calderdale’s “poet on a boat”, Winston Plowes, who is this year’s Rochdale canal festival poet in residence. Meet at the Hebden Bridge marina at 12.45pm. Listen to poets read their work along the route while taking in a variety of scenic canal and river locations. No strenuous walking and at the finish there will be a sociable drink and chat in the town.
For a chance to read at this event contact Winston at winstonplowes@googlemail.com and sign up. A limited number of slots will also be made available on the day. On 22 and 23 August Winston and other poets will be giving readings aboard a horse-drawn boat setting off from Walsden and Summit respectively. There are also free, family-friendly workshops on creating instant waterways poetry on Sunday 19 August at Mytholmroyd (1.30-4pm), at Todmorden on 20 August, and at Newton Heath library on Friday 24 August (2-4pm). More details of the festival here
You will remember Winston’s epic quest to find more than 90 poems to create a poetry trail along the Rochdale canal. As he says, it turned out to be a spectacular success.
Winston said: “Firstly, a massive thank you to everyone who has lent their words to this great project. I’ve had an amazing response from poets from all over the country, which means that we have exceeded the target of 91 poems needed to post one on every lock by some margin. Your submissions have been surprising, heartfelt, funny, bizarre and amazing."
He added: "The final selection of poems has now been made for the Canal Festival Towpath Poetry Trail on the Rochdale canal. All of the 91 locks from lock 1 in Sowerby Bridge to lock 92 In Castlefield, Manchester will have poems on them provided by yourselves (locks 1 and 2 were combined at Tuel Lane to make one deep lock). In a project of this size I canot regrettably write to each poet individually, so I have decided to attach a list of lock numbers and the name and title of the poem for that lock. If you don't see your name it means that you were not selected for the poetry trail. It does not mean that your work was somehow inferior. A number of criteria were used to select poems including, suitability and relevance of subject matter, length and style as well as quality of writing. There was also a collaboration with the Connect2Poetry project embeded within the trail which had to be accommodated. I have tried to make a varied selection which includes everything from a sonnet to a haiku and experimental pieces. So, like many selection procedures, a lot depends upon luck as to whether your poem made it through. This is one of the reasons you will see some authors have more than one poem on the trail."
|
Lock no |
Name |
Title of poem
|
|
1&2 |
John Siddique |
Haiku 2 |
|
1&2 |
Genevieve Walsh |
Meet me by the Water |
|
3 |
Gaia Holmes |
Development |
|
4 |
Sarah Broscombe |
Sempiternam |
|
5 |
Stephen Mellor |
Friendly Fisheries |
|
6 |
Anne Caldwell |
Kingfisher |
|
7 |
Glenys Fishburn |
Creole Belle |
|
8 |
Stephen Anderson |
The Crowd Gathering |
|
9 |
Arthur Marshall |
The Aqueduct Song (Long Way Down) |
|
10 |
Eileen Wright |
Water-Carrier |
|
11 |
Winston Plowes (1) (Poet in Residence) |
The Signs of Sleep
|
|
12 |
Simon Rennie |
Metamorphosis |
|
13 |
Hannah Hope-Collins |
Hebden Boats |
|
14 |
S.J. Batty |
Rosemary |
|
15 |
Char March |
Mrs Toad – Estate Agent |
|
16 |
Annie Wright (1) |
Crossing over |
|
17 |
Paul Blackburn |
After the Flood |
|
18 |
John Siddique |
Haiku 1 |
|
19 |
Sean Kavanagh |
Ode to The Great Wall of Todmorden |
|
20 |
Dimitri Ogden |
Time |
|
21 |
Roy Marshall |
From the air |
|
22 |
Hazell Hills (1) |
Canalside (1) |
|
23 |
Hazell Hills (2) |
Canalside (2) |
|
24
|
Annie Wright (2) |
Toad |
|
25 |
Jo Bell (1) |
How to Live on a Boat |
|
26 |
Jan Clarke |
Elm Wood Lock Gate |
|
27 |
Philip Burton |
The Barge Bird |
|
28 |
Diane Cockburn |
Early Evening |
|
29 |
Marilyn Longstaff |
Canal |
|
30 |
Greg Freeman (1) |
The Kingfisher |
|
31
|
Debjani Chattergee |
An ‘Indian Summer’ |
|
32 |
Isobel Malinowski |
Lazy Days |
|
33 |
Graham Sherwood |
Canal |
|
34
|
Don Barnard (2) |
Bargee |
|
35 |
Eileen Earnshaw (1) |
Sights |
|
36 |
Eileen Earnshaw (2) |
Sounds |
|
37 |
Robin Parker (1) |
Watershed Sonnet |
|
38 |
Michael J Waite |
Her Home |
|
39 |
Robin Parker (2) |
Descent |
|
40
|
Don Barnard (1) |
Spring |
|
41 |
Sam Fisher (1) |
Pairs on the Pier |
|
42
|
Annie Wright (3) |
Lindisfarne Beach |
|
43 |
Margaret Holbrook |
The Lock |
|
44 |
Steve Garside |
Pause |
|
45 |
Kate Dempsey |
She Stoops to Conker |
|
46 |
Elaine Booth-Leigh (2) |
Walking Companion |
|
47 |
Sam Fisher (2) |
Canal |
|
48 |
Winston Plowes (3) (Poet in Residence) |
A Lock Empties
|
|
49 |
Eileen Earnshaw (3) |
From South Street |
|
50 |
Steve Garside |
50 |
|
51 |
Val Chapman |
The Write of Way |
|
52 |
Ben Willems |
From Castleton to Slattocks |
|
53 |
Seamus Kelly |
Bulrushes |
|
54
|
Charlotte Henson (1) |
Fossils |
|
55 |
Paul Mill |
Canal |
|
56 |
Rose MacDonald |
They Knew |
|
57 |
John Ling (1) |
Sun day
|
|
58 |
Julia Deakin |
Kingfisher |
|
59 |
Sian Howell |
Kite Surf |
|
60 |
Greg Freeman (2) |
Heron |
|
61 |
Winston Plowes (2) (Poet in Residence) |
Saving The Canal
|
|
62
|
Annie Wright (4) |
Damn Your Liners |
|
63 |
Hugh Davies (1) |
Protect The Swan |
|
64 |
Christine Evans |
Footprints |
|
65 |
Heather Ferrier |
Ben Brierley |
|
66 |
Diane Drinkwater |
The Bridge |
|
67 |
Sheila Kelly |
Ben Brierley’s View |
|
68 |
Diana Forrest |
The Famous Canal Chase |
|
69 |
Sheila Stretton (1) |
Lock 69 |
|
70 |
Usha Kishore (1) |
By The River |
|
71 |
Connie Ramsay Bott (1) |
Little Fish |
|
72 |
Dave Ford |
Canals They're history From times gone by |
|
73 |
Jenna Plewes (2) |
Canal Bridge into Withybed Green |
|
74 |
Jo Bell (4) |
Tixal Wide |
|
75 |
Paul Sands |
Silent Running |
|
76 |
Steve Garside |
Dive |
|
77 |
Martin Figura |
The School Trip |
|
78 |
- |
‘The Failure of the Bill’ |
|
79 |
Pauline Plummer (1) |
Some small thoughts about swimming |
|
80 |
John Ling (2) |
Fishing Match |
|
81 |
Andy N (1) |
The Other Side |
|
82 |
Laura Taylor |
Lost |
|
83 |
Mike Clarke (1) |
The Manchester ship Canal |
|
84 |
Elaine Booth-Leigh (1) |
Commercial Ways |
|
85 |
Ann foxglove |
In a dark place |
|
86 |
Keith Parkinson |
The Deepest Gaggle |
|
87 |
Katherine Shirley |
The Waterway |
|
88 |
Pat Trythall |
The Iron Men |
|
89 |
Andy N (2) |
Stealing Inspiration |
|
90 |
Winston Plowes (4) (Poet in Residence) |
Approaching a Kingfisher |
|
91 |
John Darwin |
Rascal |
|
92 |
Jo Bell (2) |
The Duke’s Cut |
