From the creators of Morvoren: the poetry of sea swimming comes poetry anthology Mordardh: surf poetry. Cornish for breaking wave, Mordardh explores surfing and what it means to surfers living in Cornwall. We're delighted to stock Mordardh in our Museum shop to accompany our major exhibition SURF!, which is also a celebration of waveriding in Cornwall.
Mor Poets are a group of women poets who have connected with surfers across Cornwall to create this work and explore the magic of surfing. We spoke to Ella Walsworth-Bell, the curator of this anthology to find out more about the process of creating Mordardh.
After creating Morvoren, what inspired the Mor Poets to focus on Cornwall's surfing community next? / What drew you from swimming to surfing?
I went swimming on a stormy day on Scilly with poet Ruth Eggins - it was so exhilarating it reminded me of surfing as a teenager in Cornwall. On 'good surf' days, when you drive through small coastal towns and villages, the surfers are suited up with board in hand, heading down the beach. It struck me that there were stories to be told and the reasons people surf may be similar to the reasons people seek the ocean when swimming. It's that magical Blue Water Feelgood Factor!
Photograph: Rita Hencke
How did you go about discovering the stories that needed to be told and finding those surf connections? / Can you tell us about your process of transforming surf conversations into poetry?
For me, tracking down surfers was not easy. They just wanted to be out there surfing! The other poets were more connected within surf communities; for instance, Fi Read's four children all work within the surf industry in Cornwall and across the world. I wanted to be sure we had a diverse range of voices and finding the poetry within these words was not difficult - most surfers, it turns out, are secretly poetic at heart.
How important was it to you to use Cornish language for the title of the collection, and what does this connection to Cornwall's heritage mean to the project?
Us Mor Poets are a collection of women that call Cornwall our home - some of us have been living here for generations, and others moved here to follow the dream of living in a county where many people consider a holiday destination. I arrived in the safe harbour of Falmouth by boat in 1979 when living aboard with my parents, having crossed the Atlantic as a child. Cornwall is my home and I wanted to honour the heritage of our global minority language, connecting us to celtic nations both in the UK and living abroad.
How do the photographs by Alice Bray and poems work together to capture the surfing experience?
As always, it was a pleasure collaborating with Alice - we set up our surf photoshoots and then crossed our fingers that the weather would play ball. There are so many factors involved: wind, tide, sky, pressure systems, wave dynamics...it is testament to her endurance and abilities to swim fast in breaking water that we managed to get the photos we did. It was important to us to have photos of surfers (and their boards) to really bring alive our poetry. Most surf photos are all about the wave; we wanted our surfer's voices to sing on the page.
Photograph: Alice Bray
You've travelled across Cornwall to collect stories – was there anything that surprised you about how surfing culture varies across different Cornish coastal communities?
The variety of voices. There are surfers on Scilly desperate to ride the mythical Golden Ball wave, there are disabled surfers able to access surf through the Wave Project, women surfers getting out there at mist-kissed dawn, and craggy older surfers on longboards who know the local beaches better than anyone. It never ceases to surprise me that surfers arrive in Cornwall for a van holiday and stay on for decades in 'refreshingly cool' water.
What were the most interesting themes that kept emerging when you spoke with Cornwall's surfers?
That there is a kind of magic to the water and a spirituality to the simple act of surfing, which is different to other ocean-based sports. One surfer said 'it's like flying'. No wave is ever the same twice, even on the same beach on the same day. The sport is addictive and there are many ways to use a breaking wave. Surfers always, ALWAYS name their boards. They get out there in all seasons and stay out for hours!
Photograph: Alice Bray
How did the project change any of the author’s relationships with surfing?
For me, I loved digging my old bodyboard out of the garage and getting into the water again. It made me grin, twenty years on, when I caught a wave. For poet Kerry Vincent, she was inspired to buy her first wetsuit and get in the sea - she proudly sent me a photo of herself - whereas previously, all her nine children had gone on surf camps with school and she hadn't got further than toe-dipping. That's inspirational.
What do you hope readers – whether they're surfers or not – will take away from Mordardh?
Whatever your reasons for doing so, being in or near the sea has a positive effect on our physical and mental health. I hope by reading poetry in Mordardh, this will inspire you to dip your toes in and understand the pull of the waves. Don't forget to read the glossary; we learnt a lot of new vocabulary from surf-speak.
For visitors to the National Maritime Museum Cornwall who might be discovering surfing culture for the first time in our SURF! exhibition, what thoughts from Mordardh would you share with them?
Morag Smith's poem says 'there's a song sings through the sea, her voice pounding rock'. Take in the exhibition, then get down the beach and listen to the waves. The sea is speaking to you. I guarantee you'll find your Blue Water Feelgood Factor, whether or not you get on a board!
With photography by Alice Bray, this collection is curated by Ella Walsworth-Bell and the included authors are: Fi Read, Morag Smith, Hannah Temme, Kerry Vincent, Ulrike Duran Bravo, Kate Barden and Megan Chapman.
Mor Poets is an Arts Council England-funded women’s poetry collective founded by Ella Walsworth-Bell from Falmouth.