SEA

Even when I'm not in the sea

I am sensing her. The sea is in me.

I am thinking of her when

I am writing, when the dry wind

rattles the stubble, when my skin burns

and the leaves of the chestnut tree

shrivel at the end of summer.

Even if it is hours

or years since she has held me,

I am thinking of the sea.

Lydia Fulleylove

"An oasis, a space for reflection and for laughter as well as for writing. We all come back every week, ready to share three hours of reading, talking and writing, our lives left behind".

Member of prison writing group.

Lydia Fulleylove is a UK based poet, writer and facilitator. She is most at home when out of doors, whether in the hills, woods or by the sea.

"Wild places and the rhythm of the seasons are integral to my work. I see writing as a form of exploration and experiment, rooted in the senses, a voyage through observation, memory and reflection to the shaping and crafting of a ‘final’ piece"

The power of place is often significant in the workshops she facilitates with a wide range of community groups, including schools, mental health and prison. Experience or memories of particular landscapes offer a focus through which participants may explore thoughts and feelings. One workshop member expressed it like this:

"Looking out is often a way of looking in - then looking out again"

Lydia has a strong interest in combined arts projects in her work with community groups and she collaborates with other writers, artists and musicians.

"The energy created by the meeting and overlapping of art forms has also inspired my own writing, making me realise that ‘no art form is an island’. The act of looking - the giving of attention through whichever sense - has informed all our collaborations"

Lydia was shortlisted for the Forward Best Single Poem Award in October 2010. Her first collection , Notes on Land and Sea, was published by HappenStance Press in June 2011 and is available from HappenStancePress.co.uk

© Lydia Fulleylove 2011. Photography Richard Mair and Jeff Pigott. Website design Jeff Pigott