Granite Land

An Exhibit of Photographs by Jenny Leathes, ARPS, MA 1960-2014 Saturday, March 14- March 28, 10 am-4pm Helston Museum Jenny Leathes was an extraordinary woman with a passion for life and all it offered. She was a mountaineer, skier, sailor, cyclist and marathon runner, and a photographer with a drive to document the world around her. Her photos of granite in Cornwall, along The Tinner's Way, and elsewhere are a testament to her keen eye for detail in the world she chose to live in.

Her body of work includes her documentation of the River Dart from its source to outflow, as well as the studies of lichens and vegetation on Dartmoor.

Jenny died last year, after a long battle with cancer, and this exhibit is both a memorial to her life, and a tribute to her passion for recording her world.

Come and view this exhibit, view it with wonder, and capture a little of the essence of her work. We hope it will inspire everyone to see the world with new eyes, to absorb a little of the sense of wonder with which she explores the landscapes of her life.

You done good, Jenny. Rest in peace.

Jenny bequeathed her archives to the Hypatia Trust, and we at the Trust are privileged to sponsor this exhibit as a personal and professional tribute to a master of her art.

'Granite Land' by Jenny Leathes can be found in the Hypatia Bookshop.

Dreadnought Southwest's new Production!

Dreadnought Southwest’s new production! As we approach the general election, Dreadnought South West Association is going on the road with a new play - 'The Orchard' - starting in Redruth on 2nd March.

Part of the Rebellious Sounds project, which is looking at stories around women's activism across the South West, 'The Orchard' imagines a meeting between Millicent Fawcett and Emmeline Pankhurst, the moderate and the radical, and explores what happens when opposing political forces come together.

Dreadnought will host a series of unique Œscratch¹ performances of 'The Orchard' across the region. These scratch performances are similar to script-in-hand or rehearsed readings of the material so far, and Dreadnought is inviting audiences to have their say in this pre-election time and to add their voices to the creative process through lively Q&A sessions and debates on the issues contained in the play; the importance of using the vote, democracy, equality, women¹s voices and the paradoxes of leadership.

Nine million women did not use their vote in the last UK general election in 2010. What will happen this May?

As well as the performances, there will be a series of free workshops and events taking place - details of which will go up on the website soon (www.dreadnoughtsouthwest.org.uk) - but I have attached the e-flyer for your information. Please feel free to share widely!

Jenny Leathes, photographer and artist, died on April 12.

It is with great sadness that we report the death of Jenny Leathes. Jenny was an extraordinary woman, talented, vibrant, courageous and an inspiration to all who knew her. Our thoughts and prayers go to her family and all those who were close to her. When it became obvious that her cancer was winning the battle, and that she did not have much time left, Jenny decided to bequeathe all her archives and remaining work to the Hypatia Trust, so that her work would find a suitable home. We plan an exhibition of her work for next spring, as a memorial tribute to her and the amazing life that she led. We also have her book, 'Granite Land' in our online bookshop for any who have not yet had the opportunity to acquire a copy. Jenny's driving curiosity and attitude of wonder at the world around her took her on many journeys and she has recorded the sights and intricacies of that world in her work. We will all miss her and her talent for seeing the world in a new and exciting way. Her studies of Dartmoor are unprecedented, and her skill with the camera is a gift for all of us. Rest in Peace, Jenny - You done good.

A Poetry app for you to try!

Discover the App of inspiration:Words in Air ~ Poetry in Place 20th May in The App Store!

Update for National Poetry Day, October 2014:  App also features Cornish poets.  New poetry group forming for 2015 at Trevelyan House, Penzance and online - please be in contact if you are interested in joining, locally or from a distance. Download a PDF demonstration of this app.

What do the following places have in common? Westminster Bridge, The White Horse at Westbury, a village in County Antrim, a Hampstead garden, the Tring Zoological Museum, a street in Hammersmith, the Outer Hebrides, Pearson Park in Hull, a quiet stretch of Suffolk coast, The National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, an uninhabited island in Ireland's Lough Gill, a former mill in Yorkshire, a farm in Fyfe, a cottage in Felpham, West Sussex, a station stop in Gloucestershire called Adlestrop . . .

Each of these places inspired a poet. Words in Air is a new app that offers you a unique way into poetry: poetry-in-place, in the palm of your hand. Enjoy a poem instantly, on the very spot which sparked its creation. Discover new poems -- and poets. Re-discover familiar places through a poem. See which poem was inspired by a place nearest to you, across the UK. Stand in the place where these poets stood, and gain a deeper insight into the poem, and the place. Words in Air will pinpoint the place for you that sparked each poem. Visit, virtually and for real, to gain a deeper understanding of the creative process, through the revealing relationship between poetry and place.

You can also access all the poems from this digital anthology of over 50 poems by 29 poets, from wherever you happen to be. Find out more about each poet. Click on a relevant website to further explore their work, and/or the place.

Words in Air is a project that's just beginning. We plan to update the App with more poems, so that more places of inspiration will soon be within your reach. Whether you're planning a trip to, or within the UK, returning home, or an armchair traveller, tap into brilliant contemporary and classic poems any time, any place.

Words in Air is a map of inspiration thanks to these poets: Fleur Adcock, Julia Bird, William Blake, Charlotte Bronte, Andy Brown, Alan Brownjohn, John Burnside, Caroline Carver, Helen Dunmore, Anne-Marie Fyfe, John Greening, Jenny Hamlett, David Harsent, Judith Jedamus, Alan Jenkins, Judith Kazantzis, John Keats, Daljit Nagra, Sean O'Brien, Peter Redgrove, Robin Robertson, Fiona Sampson, Penelope Shuttle, Angela Stoner, George Szirtes, Edward Thomas, William Wordsworth, W.B. Yeats, Tamar Yoseloff.

Created by Shearsman poet Alice Kavounas, expert app developer John Kennedy (Pocket Universe), and leading designer Mike Murphy.

Contact Alice Kavounas: alicejuno@btinternet.com .