Project Activities

  1. Raising awareness, through Poetry Workshops, run by published poets and writers.
  2. Commissioning a poem from Jane Holland, who was Warwick Poet Laureate at the time. A second commission was given to Malcolm Dewhirst, the project leader.
  3. Launching a national competition to find 8 poems to be installed on the trail. The themes included heritage and living in a modern village.
  4. Judging the entries (114) from all over the world (the Internet made the competition global). The Judges were Malcolm, Jane Holland and Julie Talbot from Polesworth Library.
  5. Engaging the artists to interpret the poems as sculptures in the landscape. This was done with Julie Edwards and Ron Thompson from Planet Art.
  6. Creating a set of promotional postcards with each of the 10 poems plus some of the 16th and 17th Century poetry written in Polesworth.
  7. Consulting with the relevant organisations in establishing the planning permissions from the site owners and the local council for the installations.
  8. Development and installation of the sculptures. All ten are now in place.
  9. Celebration event held in April, 2010.
  10. At all stages in the project, managing and accounting for expenditure.