Introductions

Hi all! This is the first in a series of short reflexive pieces I’ll be writing as I work on my project for Ports, Past and Present, and I thought I would start with giving people a bit of information about myself and my creative processes.

I’m a poet, academic and activist originally from Cork, where I was living when I was invited to be an artist on this project. My writing processes involve exploring pathways and the stories that evolve along them, and I’ve previously written about my experiences walking the Camino de Santiago, the ancient Saint Declan’s Way in Ireland, and in the Himalaya. I was planning to spend this summer taking the ferry back and forth to Pembroke Dock, interacting with the local community and walking the town and surrounding area – but times became quite strange after that, and it became obvious that we would have to imagine new ways of interacting and creating work together. And I actually live in Iceland now, which was unexpected!

I decided to create an ‘audio storyscape’ by inviting members of the local community of Pembroke Dock to bring me for virtual walks around the town by using video-calling on their smartphones. We’ve been doing this for a few weeks now, and I’ve begun to get a sense of the town and its stories.

When the project is finished, it’s my hope that people walking in Pembroke Dock – visitors and locals alike – will be able to explore the town while listening to stories about it as told by the local community. The stories are as various as they are fascinating, and I’m really looking forward to hearing more and to developing the project to completion. If you have stories about Pembroke Dock, there’s still time to get in touch! Just use the contact page on my website.

Kathy D’Arcy
March 2021