Courage Copse – Going on Taw
Photo by Vince Large
Going on Taw grew out of Katy’s desire, as a storyteller, to really understand the valley where she lives. This led her to explore the engineer that hadcreated this landscape – the river Taw.
Katy travelled from the source down to the estuary. As much as possible, she travelled actually in or on the river rather than simply viewing it from thebanks. The river became so much more than a moving body of water, it became a creative partner with an editorial voice. It was crucial that Going on Taw‘gave back’ to the Taw rather than viewing it, as usual, as a resource to be exploited, as a thing to ‘take inspiration from.’
As Katy travelled the Taw she gathered stories, knowledge from ‘experts’ and local gossip from those who use or depend on the river and seven communitygroups geographically linked to it. Central to the creative process was to listen deep & diligently to the Taw, to not just re–tell stories, but embody them – toget dirt under the nails, make the tellings grimy, raw & true.
