Written in Stone: a poetic exploration of our enduring relationship with rocks, and how they ignite creativity.

This PhD explores humankind’s long relationship with rock and the effects it can have on our creativity and affinity with the natural world. Using rock as a conduit for a sense of appreciation and belonging, could a pebble in the hand spark an inherent need in us to understand our place in deep time and appreciate the moment? Can we take inspiration from the works of writers and artists such as Jeffrey Cohen, Hugh MacDiarmid and Barbara Hepworth to try to understand the almost otherworldly attributes that rocks may possess?This exegesis will show how, far from being inert or merely functional, stones have often been regarded as objects of reflection and wonder and can connect us with something akin to the Dreaming of the Aboriginal People and Torres Strait Islander cultures; an everywhen in which our imagination can run; free of scientific absolutes, conventional limitations and (sometimes) physical restrictions. This, in turn, can become an important aid in sparking creativity.Drawing on my research, l created a self-illustrated collection of poetry, mainly composed en plein air at sites along the East and North Yorkshire coasts and further edited and refined after a short period of recollection. Focussing largely on the geology and nature of these areas, including the problems they have faced (and are still facing) from human intervention, they range from descriptive to surreal, contrasting close observation with mystical flights of imagination.Several of the poems were written during the unsettling times of the Covid 19 pandemic. The collection, along with my research, also explores themes of overcoming writers’ block as a result of worries during lockdown, as well as the heightened sense of appreciation that regaining a freedom to reconnect with the natural world brings.