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FIND THE BEGINNING
This haiku collection is inspired by particular places and events along the course of the three main rivers in County Durham – the Tees, the Wear and the
Derwent. Each of these has its source high up in the North Pennines, approximately 2000 feet above sea level.
I have lived in the county for over twenty years and am in love with the landscape and its history. Traversing the three main river valleys has enabled me to connect with a continuum, in terms of geological, natural and social history. I have also become very aware of how vital the rivers are to our future well-being and how we often use and abuse them for short-term gain.
Much of our journeying takes us over and alongside rivers but rarely do we get out of our vehicles to see the life that flows beneath. As part of my creative journey I wanted to stop and see, to note the particular qualities of the rivers at various points from source to sea.
I began my journey in the year 2000 in the company of fellow artists, Paddy Burton and Simon Pell. Guided by two experienced wardens from English Nature, we walked to the source of the Tees on mid-summer’s day. It was cold, wet and windy and my boots fell apart. Unused to walking such difficult terrain, I was exhausted for days afterwards, but strangely exhilarated by the sense of pilgrimage undertaken.
Other, more solitary, journeys led to river mouths, industrial wastelands and beauty spots. Sometimes I made these journeys on impulse with a particular purpose in mind, sometimes I happened to find myself by a river on my way to or from somewhere else.
Filled with memories of places visited, I decided to turn these into haiku, adhering to the traditional Japanese syllable pattern of 5, 7, 5. In the first instance I displayed my verse along with map fragments as part of a ‘Year of the Artist’ exhibition which also included abstract paintings by Simon Pell and sound sculptures by Paddy Burton. Since then I have been compelled to publish the haiku in a handy pocket-sized book (with Ordnance Survey map references) that potential fellow
travellers can pop into their rucksacks before
heading off upstream or downstream.
Now the poems are here in the flux and flow of an online community, for you to enjoy along with photographs and poems by other people who have also been inspired by rivers and water-courses. You may enter these virtual rivers at any point and travel where you wish around the site. I hope you’ll be inspired to write your own haiku so please do submit your poems if you encounter a special river or if you experience a special moment by a familiar river you see everyday.
Good luck! Happy reading and inspired writing!
Julie Ward
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