My landscape ecopoem 'Dorset Waterbodies, a Common / Weal' (made with Arts Council England funding) is complemented here with a soundtrack of natural river sounds. These were collected by Professor Adrian Newton, a conservation ecologist at Bournemouth University, using microphones and hydrophones above and below the surface in various rivers and streams in Dorset. 

In this way the natural voices of the rivers and their inhabitants, including birds, fish and invertebrates (such as Water Beetles), speak directly to the listener. 

The last 20 minutes feature solely the river sounds, and this section takes the listener on a deeply relaxing and magical journey beyond the poem text.

Dorset Waterbodies, ecopoem with river soundscape

Sonopoetry by Ilaria Boffa
Field recording taken at Teatro La Fenice Opera House, Venice, 2022 by Ilaria Boffa
pic Teatro La Fenice 2022, by IB 

'Whatever comes to pass
time will file the time
and this extraordinary wait.
The drama and the epic
the events that befall
the beginners
invoke glory and rage.
Because of necessity
they happen to live
because of belongingness
they happen to become.
There’s no difference between
starting and starting over for
what was or wasn’t done
cycles with the stringency
of a climate loop.
And the silence of hesitation
saturates the air condensing
inside the mask
accelerating the dew point.
It muffles this new normal.
Beginners challenge
the so called tragedy
of the time horizon
in which people can’t imagine
the suffering of the humans
of the future and
nothing much gets done
on their behalf.
Beginners are seamless
and they care.
Some of them give in.'

'Qualunque cosa accada
il tempo archivierà il tempo
e questa straordinaria attesa.
Il dramma e l’epopea
gli eventi che accadono
a chi comincia
suscitano gloria e rabbia.
Per necessità
succede di vivere
per appartenenza
succede di divenire.
Non c’è differenza tra
iniziare e ricominciare perché
ciò che è stato o non è stato fatto
si ripete con l’intransigenza
dei cicli climatici.
E il silenzio dell’esitazione
satura l’aria che condensa
all’interno della mascherina
accelerando il punto di rugiada.
Attutisce questa nuova normalità.
Coloro che iniziano sfidano
la cosiddetta tragedia
dell’orizzonte temporale
per cui le persone non riescono
a immaginare la sofferenza
degli esseri umani del futuro e
poco viene speso a loro favore.
Coloro che iniziano sono senza soluzione
di continuità e a loro importa.
Alcuni si arrendono.'

Ode for the Beginners

Sonidos de Madrid Buscando Palabras is a sonic journey in the city.

Field recording taken in August 2023 at:
Reina Sofia Museum
Mercadillo de El Rastro
Centro de Arte Flamenco y Danza Española
Teatro Flamenco
Mercado San Miguel
Mercado Antonio Martin

Sonidos De Madrid Buscando Palabras

Helen Moore and Niall McDevitt recite 'Earth Justice', inspired by a transcript of the ecocide trial held in October 2011. The ecocide trial was held to promote attempts by British environmental lawyer Polly Higgins to persuade the United Nations to class Ecocide as a 5th Crime Against Peace.

Helen Moore and Niall McDevitt - Earth Justice

Helen Moore is an award-winning British ecopoet and socially engaged artist based in NE Somerset, UK. www.helenmoorepoet.com

Dorset Waterbodies, ecopoem with river soundscape

Helen Moore Ecopoet

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