Stanza Stones

Stanza Stones is an imaginative collaboration between Simon Armitage and Ilkley Literature Festival, in association with imove, a Cultural Olympiad programme in Yorkshire. The project which runs until June next year sees Armitage writing a set of poems inspired by the language and landscape of the Pennine Watershed, which will be carved onto stones across the upland by stone artist Pip Hall, forming a permanent ‘Poetry Trail’ from Armitage’s home town of Marsden to the Festival’s base in Ilkley.

Running alongside Simon’s work there’s an exciting programme of engagement with six groups of young writers aged 12-26, supported by the Esmée Fairbarin Foundation. The groups, from both large cities and rural areas of Yorkshire, are taking part in a range of workshops including masterclasses with Simon Armitage on the Watershed itself, where the young people had a chance to experience and gain inspiration from the Pennine landscape.

We’ll be publishing poems produced by the young writers in a special anthology next May and a number of them read in an inspiring showcase event at this year’s Ilkley Literature Festival. This Autumn sees the young writers working with groups of young dancers and film makers, who will be taking their poems and interpreting them through their own artforms.

The final Stanza Stones celebrations will be in May and June 2012 when performances and readings at three of the sites will launch the Poetry Trail and the anthology.

Stanza Stones Latest News

Regular updated information about the poems, the carving of the stones, the young writers, dancers and film groups can be found here.

12th December The Third Stone is Complete

The third stone at Cow’s Mouth Quarry is just the place for a bracing Winter walk. It’s a level fifteen minutes or so through a gate and along a gravelled track (part of the Pennine Way) which starts beside the White House pub, which lies on the A58 from Littleborough to Hebden Bridge. While Pip was carving, walkers, climbers and whole families pushing buggies and riding tricycles went past.

We’d love you to make time to go and see it during the holiday season - do email to let us know what you think.

It’s a great spot for climbers too and we’re grateful to members of the British Mountaineering Council and the BMC Access Officer who helped us identify a suitable face for the carving.

31st October The Second Stone is Complete

The second stone, on Nab Hill near Oxenhope is finished! After weeks of carving in torrential rain and stormy wind Pip Hall has completed the second, atmospheric stone and it’s ready for visitors.

Last weekend young people from Calderdale Young Writers visited the first stone, on Pule Hill near Marsden, with their film group partners. The carving is already looking as if it had been there for years and after just four months is very popular with other visitors. The group leaders met a number of walkers at the site who told them they had come up specially to find the stone and read the poem.

It’s well worth a visit if you are over that way.

Thursday 1st September

The Festival Director was delighted to have the unusual task of taking temporary ‘handover’ of a small piece of Pennine upland, lying between Haworth and Hebden Bridge, from United Utilities, who have kindly given permission for the carving of the second stone. We met with United Utilities’ representatives high above a sparkling reservoir on a perfect late Summer day to sign the forms which will enable work to take place during September.

Of course each site requires extensive permissions and consents from the landowners and statutory bodies involved before any work can take place, but we seldom get to sign off the paperwork in such beautiful surroundings! We are very grateful to all the private landowners, utilities companies and local authorities, and to English Heritage, Natural England and the National Trust who have been working so tirelessly with us to make the project possible.

14th July The First Stone is Complete

The first of seven specially engraved ‘Stanza Stones’ has been completed on Pule Hill, above Marsden.

Rachel Feldberg, Ilkley Literature Festival’s Director said “The whole team’s really excited to see the first poem finished. It’s an incredibly evocative piece and looks fantastic cut into the stone. We’re extremely grateful to the National Trust who gave permission for the Pule Hill site and have been so positive about the project.  This first stone is already attracting lots of attention from local walkers and climbers, one man even dropped in after seeing it from the air while para-gliding over the area.  We hope lots of people will be inspired to go and find these unique poems as they appear across the Pennines over the next 11 months. And we’re longing to hear your responses via our website and facebook pages.”

Simon Armitage

Thoughts and comments from Simon Armitage from the beginning of the project can be found here.

Ilkley and Stanza Stones

Ilkley, the Festival’s home town at the end of the trail, will be hosting two stanza stones. With the help of Bradford Council and English Heritage who suggested the sites we will be using, we now have full statutory permission for siting two of Simon’s poems in the area. One will be part of the  ’Causey Paving’  an existing Bradford Council project, which has the full consent and approval of Natural England and is intended to mitigate the damage caused by walkers to the delicate terrain. Flagstones from former mill buildings are being laid by Bradford Council on Ilkley Moor and one of them, amongst the hundreds being used, will bear Simon’s poem.

The other Ilkley site was suggested by English Heritage and is a large boulder among many, much lower down in a valley, away from the top of the hill and in a more ‘domesticated’ part of the Moor, close to a road, nearer to the town and by a modern man-made intervention so it will be easier for local people, older people, dog walkers and families to find.

We are grateful to Bradford Metropolitan District Council for making these sites possible and to English Heritage for their help and advice.

Stanza Stones Young Writers’ Groups

Information about the young writers’ groups involved in Stanza Stones, links, poems and photographs can be found here.

Stanza Stones Young Dance Groups

Information about the young dance groups involved in Stanza Stones and links to their sites can be found here.

Young Film Groups

Information about the young film groups involved in Stanza Stones and links to their sites can be found here.

Stanza Stones Young People and Writers Partners

Information for the young people and writers partners for Stanza Stones can be found here.

Stanza Stones is part of imove, a Cultural Olympiad programme in Yorkshire.

Stanza Stones is also supported by Pennine Prospects and by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation