Ella Frears is a poet and artist originally from Cornwall, now based in London. Her debut collection Shine, Darling (Offord Road Books, 2020) was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, and the T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry. Last year Ella was named the first ever Poet in Residence for the Dartington Trust’s grade II listed gardens selected by Alice Oswald. Her poems about the St Ives Modernists are on show at Tate St Ives. Ella has been Poet in Residence for Tate Britain, the National Trust, Royal Holloway University Physics Department, K6 Gallery, conservation organisation Back from the Brink, and John Hansard Gallery in Southampton. Ella hosts Tears for Frears on Soho Radio. Her most recent publication I AM THE MOTHER CAT (2021) is out with Rough Trade Books.

Ella collaborated with Dr Timothy Cooper from the University's Centre for Environmental Arts and Humanities on the Penryn campus. Taking them from the Penryn campus to Venice, together the pair explored Tim's research into maritime oral histories by exchanging practice through conversation, teaching and workshops.

Below you can watch a film about their fellowship which details how their collaborative process developed.

Creative Writing Workshops

In January 2023 Ella spent a week at the Penryn campus, joining Dr Cooper for a seminar with undergraduate History students where she led a creative writing workshop. Guided by Ella, and taking inspiration from the poets Tara Bergin, Joe Brainard and Luke Kennard, the students crafted their own creative writing pieces, including the below by Katja Ledward.

We get a lot of lost souls in here…
Said the doctor writing in their notebook,
Said the cashier scanning the shopping,
Said the barista steaming the milk,
Said the bus driver tapping the wheel,
Said the teacher writing on the board,
Said the chef chopping the vegetables,
Said the mother rocking her baby,
Said the librarian checking the books,
Said the deity opening the gates behind them.

By Katja Ledward, inspired by the work of Tara Bergin.

I Remember…

I remember jam butties,
I remember walking home from school avoiding the cracks in the flagstones,
I remember watching my mum laying in the hospital bed after her ankle surgery,
I remember screaming on the roller-coaster once I was finally tall enough to go on it,
I remember my dad crying when he found out about what had happened with my stepdad,
I remember eating crunchy nut cornflakes with my brothers at my grandma’s house,
I remember singing karaoke with my friends,
I remember tequila shots (at least I think I do),
I remember smiling and joy, I don’t remember when they vanished though,
I remember the doctor’s office. The four walls. The drone of his voice as he summarized my mental health into three words,
I remember hugs from my sisters,
I remember kissing my great-grandma’s cheek and feeling her whiskers brush against my skin,
I remember losing them, the person I hurt through drunken fear,
I remember painting on a smile to get through the day, not wanting anyone to find out how I truly felt inside,
I remember walking through fields with my dog,
I remember laughing at horror films,
I remember laughing in general,
I remember living.

Written by Katja Ledward, inspired by the work of Joe Brainard.

Interview with the Heart

The first thing I notice about the residency of the heart is the colour. The striking red surrounds me like an all-encompassing blanket of crimson. The heart is often seen as fragile and weak, but the reality is quite the opposite. The heart is strong and muscular, it is the source of life and gives us that gift every day. It works hard and endlessly to push essential life forces to us whenever we demand it. But the heart is also vulnerable. It aches for another. For a companion of its own. Lungs come in pairs, as do kidneys, ears, nostrils, hands, legs, and eyes. But the heart is alone. Sometimes it believes it has found its partner only for them to be separated by walls of emotions created by the mistakes of the brain. The heart sometimes detests the brain and the world’s insistence on them working in harmony. Heart and mind. The heart would much rather work alone instead of waiting for the go-ahead from upstairs to confess its true feelings. I guess when it comes down to it though, the heart is simply an extension of the mind, and again I am left talking to myself.

Created by Katja Ledward, inspired by the work of Luke Kennard.

Arts and Culture Creative Fellowships

Arts and Culture Creative Fellowships offer creative practitioners the opportunity to engage with innovative academics and professional services staff across the University of Exeter’s colleges and campuses.

Rather than being a residency, these opportunities are described as placements. The creative practitioner is a peer, opening up new approaches and conversations with the University hosts while developing and enriching their own creative practice. This scheme encourages mutually beneficial exchange, where both the host and the creative practitioner gain new insights and potential ways of working.