we are excited to announce the launch of our new book…
A Book of Poetry + Painting
Enter Coleridge’s divine imagination via Kubla Khan’s ‘deep romantic chasm’. The Dreaming of Hinkley Point time-travels in word and image from his Somerset years in 1797-8 with Dorothy and William Wordsworth to the Quantocks of today, overlooking the atom-splitting world of Hinkley Point. What would Coleridge have made of the dark genesis of its technology, its cranes, domes, the inconceivable energy of nuclear fission co-existing with the beautiful sounds of the dawn chorus deep in the Combes? Is the divide now unbridgeable between science and the divine? and is there a way out of being forever haunted by premonitions of ‘ancestral voices prophesying war’.
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Artwork
The book is bursting with artwork that I created as a response to the landscape around Hinkley point, and then as a response to the poem. There are paintings, site-specific drawings containing pigments from the Hinkley landscape, photographs and sketchbook pages from my time there investigating and experimenting for my MA project.
What people are saying…
“The Dreaming of Hinkley Point is a riveting work of imagination….as much detailed visceral song to the natural world, this poem sequence is also a poignant exploration of the wonder, awe and dangerous enchantment of technology and its promise of unlimited possibility. The engaging reach of of Graeme Ryan’s craft - is complemented and is tensioned by the fluidly-breathing colour images from Georgina King. A visually gorgeous and thought-provoking book “
Graeme Ryan - Poet
Graeme Ryan was born in St. Anne’s-on-Sea in Lancashire and lives in West Somerset. For many years he taught English and Drama and is the author of several full-length plays for young people, including Heartland, The Name of the Beast, Hope Street and Tracks of the Free, all of which have been performed in a professional setting. Nature Notes Calendar with artist Rebecca Gryspeerdt came out in 2020 and his debut poetry collection Valley of the Kings in 2022. He has read in numerous occasions across the South West, most recently at Coleridge Cottage. He is co-chair of Taunton‘s Fire River Poets and often MCs their live events.
Georgina King - Artist
Georgina is an award wining artist living in west Somerset. Her art practice is rooted in a deep love for the Jurassic coastline, a connection that began during childhood holidays, deepened through her MA project exploring the divided landscape of Hinkley point and culminated in her moving from London to become a permanent resident. Georgina has exhibited widely and sells her work internationally. She has been selected for the prestigious Wells Open in 2024 and has run pigment workshops for the Exmoor Society and her work has featured in their publication. Recently she participated at the Words in Watchet festival creating an art film to accompany the reading of The Dreaming of Hinkley Point. This year she presents her first solo exhibition - The Sacred Acre