Poetry at the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge

I can hardly believe that my 'three-month museum residency' as part of a group at the Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) in Cambridge, via The Poetry School, is into its final month. It has been an unbelievable experience so far, with input sessions from poets and SPRI researchers alike.

We have studied and handled artefacts. We have looked at documents and charts. We have spent time in the museum and we have flexed our poetry muscles in unexpected ways. It has been exciting to learn a different vocabulary and to meet new people.  

three-month museum residency√

three-month museum residency

three-month museum residency

three-month museum residency

three-month museum residency√

three-month museum residency

Cambridge from the Backs

Back in the 1990s I worked for five terrific years in one of the Cambridge University archives, and I have been aware of a certain sense of 'return'. It is often the case, however, that one fails to appreciate one's surroundings and local resources to the full until it is time to move on!

'Behind the Scenes at the Scott Polar Research Institute' developed out of the Cambridge 'Threshold' residencies that took place in a number of university museums and institutions in 2013. The project was showcased at the Cambridge Festival of Ideas last autumn, and I was very inspired by what I heard at the event.