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Journeys of the Mind
It was in 2001 that Borderland Voices published Landscapes
of the Mind. Five years later, we offer you its sequel. We
believe that Journeys of the Mind reflects new
movements in positive directions both for us as individual
artists & writers and for us as an arts and mental health
group which is steadily growing in self-confidence and
ambition.
The journeys represented here can be seen as both actual and
allegorical. The book opens in the safe and familiar
surroundings of Leek. Readers are then invited to wind their
way through different kinds of childhood towards scenes of
instability and uncertainty. Together we can contemplate the
dangers of the open country ahead. At first, there are
congenial companions on the journey with the offer of
light-hearted moments in Rethink gardens at Kniveden and
Brough Park, but then the real assault on reason begins. The
traveller is attacked from all sides by frightening
apparitions and overwhelming emotions – panic, guilt, anger,
depression, fear.
Through ownership of these emotions, through the act of
artistic expression and through contact with a supportive
group, travellers are offered the possibility of creative
release and new bearings. They find these, perhaps, at the
Dove Valley Centre, in the heart of the rural Moorlands,
where, at the end of the book, they arrive at another safe
place, twelve miles from Leek.
Borderland Voices is now poised for new ventures. Journeys
of the Mind gave rise directly to the innovative Rivers
of Life project which drew inspiration from the
spectacular scenery of the Staffordshire Moorlands. The newest
Borderland Voices initiative is Stepping Stones Arts, a
pilot Arts on Referral programme which, in contrast, runs from
our new community base at Haregate, Leek. After five years of
travelling, it feels good to have a home of our own at last.
We are full of hope for a future in which we intend, through
our art, to contribute, not just to the mental health of
individuals but also, perhaps to the well-being of the wider
society. We’ve touched ground safely.
To purchase a copy please e-mail us at:
info@borderlandvoices.co.uk
The book is on sale for £6.00 including postage & packing.
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