Words in bombazine and crepe

 

Words in bombazine and crepe...

Words on the Street

final collections

In bombazine and crepe,

Public attention she’d crave

So magazines she courted

And with photographers flirted….

(Vol 1, p11)

We asked the questions 

 

What words might tell 

The tale of a town?

What rhymes might wreck reputations

And wake a tourist’s frown?

 

 

We scattered images over tabletops: 100 years of Spring Gardens’ shops, café, hotels and more.

We scribbled, talked, laughed, composed more carefully and generally dived into the richness of a single street. That in itself is intriguing: following the changing patterns of shopfronts, street furniture and the buildings themselves. And the wonders of shop window displays from the Ladybird Book fortnight (1960s) to knitting displays, sweet shop temptations….

 

As workshop artists we loved it all and were delighted when our visitors responded with as much enthusiasm. Enthusiasm that went in direction we wouldn’t have expected – words from the pigeons who’ve seen it all, thoughts about geese passing high overhead, a reflective monologue over a flat white, Greek Mythology (go on, find the Medusa story in Volume 3 and then go and find Medusa’s daughter among the carved faces on our buildings)…

As we reach the end of the Words on the Street project from the Buxton Our Street initiative, we'd like to share the richness (and craziness) of the work that we've received. We ended up with so much material that we can’t just post it here but you can download the work through the link, here:

Words on the Street poems and stories

There are three files. They are not particularly big files or really that long, just hugely varied!

You will find:

• Volume 1: contributions we received by email and our own practice pieces, sued to give participants ideas
• Volume 2: work from our friends at Borderland Voices: the BV regular writing group took Buxton’s Spring Gardens and the thought of a town’s “High Street” as a theme for their writing for a couple of sessions.
• Volume 3: Buxton Community School: here is an explosion of poems and stories from year 7 students at Buxton Community School.

Through the Words on the Street project we have been hugely helped by Buxton Museum and Art Gallery, Borderland Voices, and Buxton Crescent Heritage Trust. Our thanks go to these friends and to all the authors, poets, storytellers and troublemakers who have contributed to the project!
 

SPRING GARDENS

Should we plant

Pear trees and pink

Roses

In tubs and beds

Neatly along the

Gardens?

 

Gathering apples and 

Red, ripe raspberries might

Delight

Everyone, inviting them to

Nibble greedily

(Vol 1, p11)