Landscape poet, Harriet Tarlo, has taken inspiration from a pensioner’s memories of his favourite childhood haunt.
Ms Tarlo, of Scholes, used Kenneth Haigh’s memories of Digley Reservoir as the stimulus for her poem, ‘A Walk Round Digley Royd and Bradshaw’.
The verses, inspired by the Upperthong pensioner’s recollections, are part of Harriet’s ‘Tributaries’ project, which was commissioned for this year’s Holmfirth Arts Festival.
The project, a collaboration between Harriet and artist Judith Tucker, explores the landscape between Black Hill and Digley Reservoir.
The pair have produced a series of poems and drawings which have been included in an artists’ book called ‘Sound Unseen’ which was published earlier this month.
Kenneth, 88, is a keen local historian and member of Holmfirth Civic Society.
Mr Haigh, who is also a member of Holme Valley Sharing Memories Group, has written about names and places in Holme Valley, particularly Digley Reservoir which was his favourite haunt as a boy.
Harriet said: “Kenneth’s writing includes the names of people and places that have long since been lost in the public’s knowledge.
“I wanted to keep these alive in my own work and to draw too on the sounds of the words and the musicality of Kenneth’s phrasing.”
