We are very excited to be able to share these dates and venue details with you for the Young Curators Touring Exhibition. If you don’t get a chance to pop into Wisbech and Fenland Museum to see their full exhibition, then you will still be able to view a cut-down version of it in these different Fenland venues.

Wisbech: A Century of Memories. Wisbech Museum. 18 March - 20 April 2013

Chatteris Museum Sat 30th March - Sat 20th April

Whittlesey Museum Sat 27th April - 11th May

March Library & Learning Centre Sat 18th May - 8th June

Thomas Clarkson Academy Mon 10th June - Mon 1st July

College of West Anglia Mon 8th July - Wed 31st July

You may remember that we nominated a few of our favourite people for the Pride in Fenland Awards early this year. Well, the Awards evening was on Friday, and it was really lovely to see so many good people in one room. It was great to see some wonderful people being recognised for the hard work they put into supporting their local community, and the winners were truly deserving.

We were very pleased to see our gang get up and receive their certificates.

The Young Curators Forum for working hard to bring people together, share something positive about Fenland and produce an exhibition and booklet to help other people do similar. (Charlotte Shears and Brandon Mattless collected the certificate on behalf of the Young Curators Forum)

Elaine Ewart for giving her time last year as the Fenland Poet Laureate (No poets were hurt in the taking of this photograph!)

And Brandon Mattless for being an all round super duper young person! (Brandon with his proud parents)

Brandon was the Runner Up in the Young Citizen of the Year, and we were all dead chuffed! He got a spangley new trophy (to add to his growing collection!) and was rightfully proud of himself. Sometimes I think people forget that Brandon, who is just 17, has achieved what he has achieved by himself - yes, there are people there to guide and support him, people who open doors and present him with opportunities, but, it is Brandon who has chosen to take those opportunities and he is the one who has put in the hard work, asked the questions, and made the most of each and every situation. Good on you Brandon Mattless! At this rate, who knows what he can and will do next?!

I have to say what a fantastic evening I had on Friday. It was nice to see so many people there, supporting the Young Curators Forum and their achievements.

Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, Mr Hugh Duberly officially opened the exhibition which was really nice and an opportunity to talk to him about all the great things young people are doing.

I was surprised to be awarded for ‘Exhibition Superstar’ for all of my hard work with the exhibition and it was also good news that we gained our Silver Arts Award. I was really happy that lots of people were there to see the amizing work that we have done and it’s definitely worth seeing.

Brandon Mattless, Lead Curator - Wisbech: A Century Of Memories

We are still trying to come up with words to describe how utterly brilliant the opening event for the Young Curators Forum exhibition was! Wisbech: A Century of Memories, was officially opened by Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, Mr Hugh Duberly. He was most lovely, and genuinely interested in talking to all of the young people. Brandon Mattless received a special award from his peers for being an ‘Exhibition Superstar!’ and Charlotte Shears, Abbie Loosemore and Brandon Mattless all received their Silver Arts Awards at the event. It was a great evening of celebration, happiness and pride! Thank you to everyone who came along and got involved in the project.

All photos © Mark Shihadeh

This illustrated book will be produced by WWT Welney is association with Atelier East and the Fenland Poet Laureate awards.  Poems will be selected from those submitted by an editing panel which will include Elaine Ewart, Fenland Poet Laureate 2012, Karen Harvey of Atelier East and a representative from WWT Welney.

All profits from sales will go towards the conservation work at WWT Welney.

Submission Guidelines

1.  Send us your poems on any of the following themes:

Wetland Wildlife
People and Wildlife
Fenland Landscapes

2.  Poems should be no longer than 40 lines each.

3.  Send a maximum of 6 poems.

4.  Please include your age on your submission if you are under 18.

5.  Unfortunately we are unable to return your submissions so please keep a copy.

6.  The deadline for submissions is 20 April 2013.

7.  Please send submissions by e-mail to admin@atelier-east.co.uk (marked ‘Poetry Anthology’ in subject heading) or by post to Poetry Anthology, WWT Welney, 100 Foot Bank, Welney, Norfolk  PE14 9TN

8.  Copyright in relation to submissions remains with the author but WWT/Atelier East reserve the right to publish successful submissions in the anthology and in marketing material.

9.  We will aim to notify successful poets by 20 May 2013.

Launch

The anthology will be launched at our summer Pimms and Poetry event in June to which all are invited!

Wow. What a night. After haring round Wisbech in the dark, trying to find somewhere to park on the night of the fair, I arrived slightly late and somewhat flustered at Wisbech and Fenland Museum, where the gallery, spruced with an elegant new coat of paint, was already almost full, with about seventy people waiting eagerly for the poetry to start…

I felt very conspicuous sitting at the front as Karen launched us on our way. I gave a short speech about what I’d been getting up to as Fenland Poet Laureate – well, as short as I could make it, given how busy my year has been. I did want fenlanders to feel they’d had their money’s worth. I read out my winning poem from 2012, ‘The Drowned Lands’, and began to relax as the shortlisted young poets came to the stage to read their entries – all three beautifully original and atmospheric. Then it was time for their awards to be presented – James Horsburgh winning first prize and the title of Young Poet Laureate 2013 with his powerfully expressed poem from the point of view of a fenland hare, with Kristina Tunnard in second place and Bonnie Scott in third.

I concluded the first half of the evening with a rendition of my eel poem, ‘Slippery Customers’ and, while the audience enjoyed a break and nibbles and a wander round the museum, the young poets had a photo opportunity. ‘I can’t believe it,’ was the winner’s reaction to his success. James (aged 13) said he would ‘definitely’ continue with his writing, which was great to hear; that is what the FPL awards are all about.

Opening the second half of the evening with my poem about Wisbech-born reformer Octavia Hill, ‘Harriot Yorke Looks Back’, I was struck by how the sense of melancholy and of things coming to an end in that poem chimed in with my slight sadness at reading my last poem as Fenland Poet Laureate. I had not deliberately chosen it for that reason but it did turn out to have a special appropriateness.

Then the ten shortlisted poets in the adult category came up to read their poems. It was a real thrill to hear the poems I had helped to select, read by their creators, which added so much to the words we judges had already seen on the page. It was satisfying to hear how good they sounded, and the audience’s response showed how impressed they all were. ‘Top quality all round,’ was the view of Pete Cox, former Peterborough Poet Laureate, who thought it was the ‘best poetry competition final he’d ever been to,’ and that, ‘at other competitions those poets who only got Highly Commended [at the FPL awards] would have easily won’. It was a proud moment for me, for our host and support David Wright of Wisbech and Fenland Museum, and Karen Harvey of Atelier East.

But there can only be one Fenland Poet Laureate (at a time) and my crown was passed on to Leanne Moden, with her exciting evocation of fenland skaters, with Emma Ormond in second place and, in joint third place, Rani Drew and Lizzy Doe. I asked Leanne how it felt to be the new Fenland Poet Laureate. ‘Weird,’ she admitted. ‘I wasn’t expecting it at all!’ However, knowing Leanne already as last year’s second prize winner and a familiar figure on the local poetry scene, I am confident she will be a great Fenland Poet Laureate, not only writing entertaining poems but also working ceaselessly to bring people and poetry together. After the awards were made, David Wright sprang a surprise on us by asking Leanne to read us her comic poem about Miss Haversham, which had already raised chuckles when she read it at two Dickens events in Wisbech last year.

At the end of the evening, I made a call for submissions for an anthology of nature poetry that we will be putting together to raise funds for the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust centre at Welney. Karen announced her exciting news that Atelier East will be joining forces with Arts Development East Cambridgeshire (ADEC) to bring more people and resources to promote the arts in the local area. They are keen to develop the Fenland Poet Laureate awards for future years so this is great news.

So, a fantastic evening all in all, with great local support from the Mayor of Wisbech and other folk who’d come to support the event and the poets. It was lovely to see you all, and hope to see you again soon at a poetry event near you!

Although I’m now no longer Fenland Poet Laureate, I won’t be putting my feet up just yet. Do please keep following me on my blog and do get in touch if you have a project idea that might benefit from some poetic input…

elaine[dot]ewart[at]gmail[dot]com

flightfeather.wordpress.com

The Fenland Poet Laureate Awards were awesome. Really! Last year was so, so lovely that we weren’t sure if we could top it, but, I’m pretty sure we did! A bunch of amazing people came together and shared words, congratulations and joy - seriously, I think it was the best thing ever! The talent of the poets involved was just phenomenal.

But, don’t just take my word for it! Have a read of some of the poems for yourself, and see what you think. Each poet has written a little introduction to give you a bit of an insight into what their poems mean, and what being involved with the Fenland Poet Laureate Awards was like. If you like words and want to get involved, please do enter the awards next year and join the growing poetry scene in Fenland!

James Horsburgh - 1st Prize - Young Poet Laureate for Fenland 2013 (pictured above)

Last night was an amazing event, not just because I won the young category, but because I was able to share the evening with other poets. I enjoyed reading my poem and and having the chance to show people my work. When I had realised that I had won, I was ecstatic and felt so proud. It was a great confidence boost. I felt very important having the opportunity to talk with the Mayor.

When I had found out that I had been shortlisted, I was jumping for joy and immediately told my family and friends. I was so excited. This was my first time reading to a group of people outside of my school. My poem is about a hare that lives in the Fens and it describes the things he likes about his life here.

I would like to enter for the Fenland Poet Laureate again when I am in the adult category. It is definitely a worthwhile thing to do because it increases your confidence when speaking in front of a group of people. It also brings people together who have a similar interest.

The Fens by James Horsburgh

I am a hare,

And this is where I live, the Fens.

All my friends and family moved away,

For the reason that it is misty and cold.

But I chose to stay,

Not to look strong or noble,

But to explore the vast, flat fields.

There is plenty of food,

With acres of crops to choose.

I have no problem with that,

But I am rather lonely and that’s a fact,

Surrounded by openness as far as the eye can see.

After the cold, hard winter, spring appears.

This brings happy times for me.

Oh, how fun it is to run along the miles of dykes.

The huge sky of blue touches the fields of yellow and green.

I look at the daffodils dancing in the sun.

As the sun sets, I hear a barn owl’s hoot from afar.

I look up at the never ending blackness,

Thousands of stars that shine so bright.

I wonder what the next day will hold.

I am a hare, and I love the Fens.

Leanne Moden - 1st Prize - Fenland Poet Laureate 2013

The Fenland Poet Laureate Event 2013 was absolutely fantastic and it was a real privilege to share the floor with twelve incredibly talented poets. The judges did a great job in selecting a real mixture of different styles; every poem was written to such a high standard and performed beautifully on the night.

My poem – Six Miles – is about the men who used the frozen Fen for speed skating races in the mid nineteenth century. I have a keen interest in local history, and I wanted to use this to write about Fenland from a slightly different perspective. I also wanted to publicize an incredibly interesting aspect of our cultural past – one which is not often known about outside of the area.

I was so proud to be shortlisted - and completely shocked to hear that I’d won the award. All of the finalists were superb, and it was wonderful to hear so many people praising the positive attributes of Fenland. Events like the Fenland Poet Laureate Awards are so important – they establish a shared sense of positive identity in the community, give talented poets a chance to shine in their local area, and promote creativity, showing people just how exciting poetry can be. I really hope that I can use my time as Fenland Poet Laureate to continue the fantastic work of Elaine Ewart and Karen Harvey, promoting Fenland poetry wherever and whenever I find it!

Six miles by Leanne Moden

Six miles, again, we’ll go today,

for honour built on broken blades.

We’ll tame these meres; skate far and fast,

with hopes that winter, long may last.

For cold that creeps and freezes fen

brings out the Runners once again.

In tests of wit and skill and speed

on crystal lakes, still wreathed with weeds.

Contracted muscles, chests pulled tight,

like frightened birds, we take to flight.

Sinews screaming, taught like wire,

in every eye, a glint of fire.

On flooded fen, we carve our names

as brackish blood runs through our veins.

The lure of wealth may spur some forth –

we skate for love and all we’re worth.

This subtle smoothness, ice unspoiled,

a canvas stretched o’er sunken soil.

To skate the marsh is to be free:

‘These Fenmen do not run; they flee!’

Emma Ormond - 2nd Prize - Fenland Poet Laureate Awards

Last night I found myself immersed in the fens, my reward for leaving the safety of Cambridge and striking out for the Wisbech and Fenland Museum to attend the Fenland Poet Laureate awards ceremony. I was so pleased to be shortlisted for this award because the fenland poet laureate brings poetry people rather than just popping it in a book somewhere and hoping they stumble across it.

The poem I entered is centred around my affection for Wicken Fen the first piece of fenland I ever visited, rather fitting then it should also be the first piece of poetry i have ever performed. The whole experience of entering, reading and getting to meet the other short listed poets has been wonderful, I will be back next year for certain and if I’m lucky I’ll get to be Fenland’s “tame” poet for 2014.

Last night was a triumph of hard work and organisation, I could not have envisioned a friendlier more supportive forum for my first reading and it was so brilliant to hear all the other poets.

Wild Memory Remains by Emma Ormond

The marks of man are etched here

Lashes on the back of an unruly slave

Criss-crossing the landscape

But fragments of wild memory

Remain

Unadorned land where the sky falls to earth

To lie upon full-bodied waters

Birthing jewels with beating hearts

Emperor,

Chaser, darter

Weave eddies of air betwixt the sedge

Where wary dwelling places

Squat low against the ground

Shy beneath colossal skies

In this open artless land

Taymaz Valley - Highly Commended, Fenland Poet Laureate Awards 2013

I felt honoured to be shortlisted for the Fenland Poet Laureate prize. I’ve been writing poetry for a long time and I think the platform Karen has created is perfect for those who haven’t gotten their break in the literature world yet. I remember reading that in order to become visible as a poet you have to go to readings and spoken word events, and I think apart from attracting the right kind of people, reading poetry out loud in front of people helps you understand why certain aspects of your poetry work and some parts don’t. I will definitely enter again, and this time around it will be a poem that will surely take the first prize. If you want to be a writer, you have to write and write, and when you cannot find the inspiration, force yourself to write some more, because you are a writer when you cannot live without writing.

On March by Taymaz Valley

I know these ways well,

even though I’ve spent a short share of my life here,

I’ve walked up and down the town,

train station to home to park and back.

I was there when Billy got hit with a cricket bat,

and when Johnny dislocated his shoulder.

I saw a whole generation get older,

boys growing up to become better men.

Even though we lost a few good friends,

never made foes frivolously and even then

never held a grudge for battles lost,

defeat we found has its own lessons learned.

Never needed much to survive,

just a few pounds, few beers and a warm bench

in the park summer come winter, even gloomy days when damp,

we laughed and sang old songs,

not caring what future plans we had, nor what future had for us planned.

Mistakes were made I’ll grant you,

minds were lost at times, bodies worse for wear,

mornings with regret, hearts broken, flesh scarred and impaled,

pierced and burnt out.

Some came out unscathed, some weren’t so lucky,

remembered by all,

those fallen comrades.

War of the rosebuds, we meant no harm,

self-inflicted wounds

for which we were never prepared.

No one told us the world was bigger,

immense in choice.

We were happy with the smoky grass.

Time readily passed without remorse,

and I saw those embracing life with unfathomable force

find love in pure pockets of silence.

Understanding myself at last, clinching to beauty

which all around me grows from every nook and cranny,

I no longer feel the need to pretend.

I see the grim groundskeeper from afar summoning,

and to him I shall say this with all honesty:

I knew this man well.

Michelle Stanbridge - Highly Commended, Fenland Poet Laureate Awards 2013

When I started writing my poem I did so whilst sat at Welney Wetland Centre.  I sat looking out of the window whilst my stepdaughter carried out other crafts within the room.  I reflected on my experiences of how it felt to live in the Fens and paid most of my attention to what it felt like when I was in my garden attending to my animals, particularly when during the colder/windy days.

I was really shocked to be shortlisted but I was very excited and very happy.  It gave me a sense of achievement and offered me encouragement.  I was nervous prior to the awards event and felt sick with nerves at times when thinking about reading out my poem as I did not know what to expect.  However, I did feel instantly relieved when I arrived at the Museum and I met the other people, and my nerves diminished.  However, I did not read my poem as I left early because my baby daughter was unsettled and I guess I felt torn between feeling guilt that I had brought my daughter out when she was usually in bed and I felt embarassment that her noises were spoiling it for others who were there to listen to the poems.  In addition, by not reading out my poem I felt that I had let myself and my family down.

I would definintely like to enter again just out if interest on whether my poems are of interest  to others or Fenland Wind was a fluke!  I enjoy writing so will continue to do so anyway despite whether or not my poems are picked in the future!

Overall it has been a very positive experience and has broadened my interests further.

Fenland Wind by Michelle Stanbridge

The winter weather in the fens is so distinct,

The chill, the bite of the wind ripping across the open view,

Like hitting a wall of dramatic freshness waking the whole body,

The world appears to standstill for a moment as shelter is found from an established hedge line,

One step beyond, an awakening of that Fenland weather is caught once more,

A short, sharp blast,

A powerful clear of the cobwebs,

The Fenland wind,

There is no need for a care, a worry or a woe,

There is not a need for anything,

Just open, free, innocence of nature,

Simplistic but powerful,

Unique and its experience oh so personal,

A fresh, brisk cleansing

A feeling of vibrancy and reborn,

The Fenland wind,

The view travels for miles,

To some it is remarked as flat or desolate,

Suggesting coldness and uninterest,

To others it is freedom, calm and peace,

Providing a warmth and sense of living,

A place of thought and contemplation,

A home, a habitat, a way of life.

The Fens.

Deborah Curtis - Highly Commended, Fenland Poet Laureate Awards 2013

I was delighted to have been shortlisted for FPL. Since moving to the region almost 20 years ago I have been fascinated and inspired by the Fens, its people, places and landscape.  I felt proud to be included in such company, as I felt that all of the shortlisted poems were of an exceptionally high standard. They were, without exception, sincere, thoughtful and original pieces which I very much enjoyed listening to.

I would like to thank Karen Harvey of atelier-east for her commitment to raising the profile of Fenland writing. There is a huge pool of talent to be discovered in Fenland, and her poetry initiatives have helped to showcase the best of it.

This was my first encounter  with the vibrant Wisbech  arts scene, and our reception was genuinely warm and encouraging. I will certainly enter future rounds of FPL, if only to meet and talk to so many talented and committed artists and writers.

Blind Hannah sits in her garden by Deborah Curtis

Blind Hannah sits in her garden,

Nodding under the washing line.

Blouses and petticoats, rinsed in a bucket

Drip on to the hot flags.

Blind Hannah waits in her garden

On a kitchen chair set to catch the sun.

With the scent of sweet peas in a pot by the door

clouding the still air.

Blind Hannah crosses her garden.

On knees wrecked from a lifetime kneeling in frozen earth.

Topping onions, weeding ‘sparrer-grass’

Stooped under vicious fen winds.

Back to the rain, picking up ’taters.

Sundays were spent on her knees again

Grateful for blessings received.

Hand over hand along the washing line,

She heaves and gropes her way.

Now the journey from chair to back door is a major undertaking.

Blind Hannah waits in her garden

For kindly death to lay her down.

For kindly death, to carry her off,

to heaven and her Albert.

The Heaven she dreams of is an onion field,

Under a Fenland sky.

A low field, raucous with the shout of pheasants and women’s laughter.

Blind Hannah dreams in her garden.

Dreams she is striding out over the Fen.

On long, strong legs to the fields.

Hat tied over her ears, coat stuffed with paper.

Or scorched by the sun under a flowery bonnet.

Her tools and docky box slung from her waist.

Dreams she is walking to work again,

Dockey time under the hedge,

‘Backs to the wind, Gals, let’s have a song’.

Blind Hannah takes the walk in her head.

Behind the darkness, where the sun pours down

onto onion fields, where the women are singing, still.

Kristina Tunnard - 2nd Prize Young Poet Laureate Awards

Bonnie Scott - 3rd Prize Young Poet Laureate Awards

The amazing Young Poets with their certificates!

Deborah Curtis - Highly Commended, Fenland Poet Laureate Awards 2013

Lizzy Doe - 3rd Prize (joint) -  Fenland Poet Laureate Awards 2013

Anita Drew reads on behalf of her mother, Rani Drew - 3rd Prise (joint) -  Fenland Poet Laureate Awards 2013

Aaron Garner - Highly Commended, Fenland Poet Laureate Awards 2013

Poppy Kleiser - Highly Commended, Fenland Poet Laureate Awards 2013

Leanne Moden - 1st Prize - Fenland Poet Laureate 2013

Emma Ormond - 2nd Prize -  Fenland Poet Laureate Awards 2013

Andrea Porter - Highly Commended, Fenland Poet Laureate Awards 2013

Michelle Stanbridge - Highly Commended, Fenland Poet Laureate Awards 2013

Siavash Valley reading for his brother, Taymaz Valley - Highly Commended, Fenland Poet Laureate Awards 2013

Aaron Garner  - Highly Commended, Fenland Poet Laureate Awards 2013

Andrea Porter - Highly Commended, Fenland Poet Laureate Awards 2013

Deborah Curtis- Highly Commended, Fenland Poet Laureate Awards 2013

Elaine Ewart - Fenland Poet Laureate 2012 who helped judge and present the awards

Leanne Moden, Fenland Poet Laureate 2013, reading her winning poem

Poppy Kleiser - Highly Commended, Fenland Poet Laureate Awards 2013

Siavash Valley collecting a certificate on behalf of his brother, Taymaz Valley - Highly Commended, Fenland Poet Laureate Awards 2013

Lovely poets! (I believe the term is a gaggle of poets, correct me if I am wrong!)

Wisbech Mayor Vivien MacRae with the top scoring poets!

Leanne Moden, Fenland Poet Laureate 2013, with Elaine Ewart and Karen Harvey

James Horsburgh, Young Poet Laureate for Fenland, and Leanne Moden, Fenland Poet Laureate with Wisbech Mayor Viv MacRae and judges Karen Harvey, David Wright and Elaine Ewart.

Yes, we pulled some funny faces - we were very happy! What a brilliant, brilliant night it was!

If you want to get copies of any of these photos, or see others that were taken on the evening, then please contact Mark at AllMindsUnite@gmail.com