Back in the UK after an extended time in France I visit my parents and find their front garden apple tree heavy with fruit.
Apples always make me think of artist activist Anne-Marie Culhane. Most recently we’ve worked together on ‘Fruit Routes’ a long term series of plantings and artistic interventions across Loughborough University’s main campus.
Seeing my mum’s small tree full of ripening apples made me think back to our Full Bloom Renga and first reading after the first session at the National Trust’s Cotehele House. This was at the other end of the growing season our writing and reading conducted under a mass of apple blossom.
The reading takes place just minutes after the renga was finished in the Old Orchard at the National Trust’s Cotehele House, Cornwall, UK.
The renga was written on a specially designed renga platform hand crafted by artist Jo Salter. Master Poet was Paul Conneally with host poet John Hall.
This is the first section of a three part renga for the National Trust Full Bloom Festival 2010 organised by National Trust Orchards Officer Kate Merry.
The Full Bloom renga was conceived by artist Anne-Marie Culhane with Jo Salter, Alec Finlay and Paul Conneally.
The Full Bloom Renga started in Cornwall at Cotehele House Old Orchard and follwed the blossoms North across England to finish two weeks later in Acorn Bank Garden and Mill, Cumbria.
Renga is a collaborative linked poetry form /process.
Artist Poets Anne-Marie Cullhane, Jo Salter, Alec Finlay & Paul Conneally are at the centre of a movement exploring space time place and culture through renga and other processes. Live renga exposes the writing process as performance in a space the process of writing the renga in a group over a number of hours in a public space being as important, if not more so, than the finished poem.
Artists Anne-Marie Culhane and Jo Salter with Finn standing by the Full Bloom Renga Platform. The platform was designed and hand crafted by Jo Salter spefically for the Full Bloom Renga.
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