Mordros Sea Poetry Book

Mordros Sea Poetry Book – Crowdfunder ends 3rd November 2024 at 8:19pm

Mordros: a new poetry project shares the voices of Cornwall’s children, young people and carers.

liquid molecules

slide and collide

shake castanets

strum bass-lines

it is

surf song

–         From ‘Blue Noise’ by Fi Read, Mordros

An exciting, collaborative, sea-themed poetry anthology will be published this November. Mordros (Cornish for ‘sound of the sea’) comprises over 30 poems that capture the relationship both locals and visitors have with the sea, and the soundscape of the ocean. What secrets do the waves whisper? What magical sounds can be heard underwater? What memories of favourite beaches echo down the generations?

To ensure a diverse range of voices and people’s encounters with the sea were included, the Mor Poets ran a series of community workshops for children, young people and carers. Thanks to FEAST funding, these were free. A number of poems from these workshops were selected to be in the anthology, alongside new poems created by the Mor Poets themselves.

From rock-pooling: “chocolate box of granite, speckled with barnacles’; to diving deep in search of wonders: ‘spider crab    hidey crab    seaweed grows    seaweed sways’; to telling children’s stories in their own voice: ‘At the beach, I like playing cricket on the shoreline’.

The result is a joyous celebration of the sea and what it means to us all.

Mor Poets founder Ella Walsworth-Bell says: “To create this book, we drew upon our happiest memories and experiences of being in or near the sea. Who can escape it, in a county so thin and crinkled at the coastline? We also hope this collection brings a wider audience to poetry, and encourages more people to get down the beach – and if you can’t get there, reading this book will enable you to dip your toe into a world of words.”

Curated by Ella, Mordros includes new poetry from Fi Read, Hannah Temme, Kerry Vincent, Ulrike Duran Bravo, Kate Barden, Lauren Gauge, Christiana Symons, Polly Roberts and Megan Chapman.

Mor Poets have launched a Crowdfunder to support the printing of Mordros, offering rewards for donations starting at just £3. There are also options to pre-order a copy or donate a copy to a local library in Cornwall. Mordros will also be available from cornwallwriters.co.uk with copies issued from the end of November.

Mor Poets is an Arts Council England-funded women’s poetry collective founded by Ella Walsworth-Bell from Falmouth, combining her love of the sea and poetry. Mordros is the Mor Poets’ third book, following the publication of their sea swimming anthology Morvoren (2022) and surf poetry anthology Mordardh (2023).

To donate to the Mordros: Sea Poetry Crowdfunder, visit:  Mordros Sea Poetry Book – a Creative & Arts crowdfunding project in Falmouth by Ella Walsworth-Bell (crowdfunder.co.uk)  – ends 3rd November 2024 at 8:19pm

–        Instagram: @Morvorenproject

–        Twitter/X: @MorvorenProject

–        Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/956570351917656 (Mor Sea Poetry)

• Mordros is a Cornish word meaning ‘sound of the sea’.
• Everyone in Cornwall lives close to the sea; the sea isn’t always accessible to all of us – this project brings it a little closer.
• The project benefits from FEAST funding.
• The anthology is a collaboration between the Cornwall’s women poets, and the community: children, young people and parents/carers.
• Poems in the collection explore the positivity of being near or in the sea – for people of all walks of life.
• These poems are written by the children, young people and carers of Cornwall – it is their voice.