Poetry review — CONVERSATIONS WITH MAGIC STONES: Sue Wallace-Shaddad admires how the techniques of writing and sculpture are related in Vivienne Tregenza’s collection inspired by the life & work of Barbara Hepworth
Conversations with Magic Stones
Vivienne Tregenza
Indigo Dreams Publishing
ISBN 978-1-912876-96-9
64pp £10.00
Vivienne Tregenza’s new collection, Conversations with Magic Stones, is inspired by the life and work of Cornish-based sculptor Barbara Hepworth. The first half of the collection, entitled ‘Form’ features poems about Hepworth whereas the second half, entitled ‘The Island’ takes us on a more personal journey experienced by the poet. The two parts are linked by a strong sense of Cornish landscape. There is a conversation between poet and sculptor throughout.
The words “Conversations with Magic Stones”, the title of the first poem, are words written by Hepworth herself (Tregenza includes such words in italics in various poems). Writing in the imagined voice of the sculptor, Tregenza uses rhyme which reinforces the ‘rhythm of the sculptor’s hammer’. The idea of conversation returns in “Chipping Away” where the poet responds to sculptures in Hepworth’s garden. Comparing writing to sculpting, she writes: ‘Part of the conversation, I’ll leave my small marks here:/ imperfectly.’ In the villanelle “Gravyor” (Hepworth’s bardic name, meaning ‘sculptor’), the repetition of the word ‘chiselling’ evokes the repetitive carving by the sculptor and the reader finds reference to conversations again in ‘[…] you find meaning/ in materials, in granite conversations.’
The last line of the first poem reads: ‘I heard wind mould granite, waves carve the shore’. This ability of nature to sculpt the landscape features strongly in the collection. The poem “Balancing Act” portrays Hepworth balancing the different roles and people in her life; this is also mirrored in the landscape: ‘feeling the tension/ between land and sea’. In “Passing Through”, Hepworth is described as ‘granite-strong, wind-strung’. Both ‘granite’ and ‘wind’ feature in the poem “Set in Stone” but the poet adds a new dimension at the end, playing on the crafting of sculpture and poetry: ‘So does it matter if our words/ are set in stone or not?’
The poem “Form” explores the existence of both ‘tension’ and ‘structure and rhythm’ in the sculptor’s work and personal life. The consideration of form is equally essential for a poet and the poem itself has the rhyming structure and rhythm of the pantoum. In “Summerhouse Villanelle”, the poet writes: ‘but what she left behind is her delight/ in rhythm, structure and in form’. In “Tools”, the first two lines state ‘The poet is a sculptor/ setting out her tools’ and then Tregenza adds ‘[…] the writing hand/ finds its form’.
Hepworth harnesses curves and circles in her sculptures and this is picked up in many poems. “Barbara Hepworth Contemplates the Universe”, ponders Hepworth’s possible wider inspiration:
the circles of her mind
reflecting the great circles
of the universe; […]
The words ‘scoured curve of rock’ and ‘peepholes’ feature in “Tides 1, 1946” and the poet suggests the ‘roundness’ of ‘flowering quince’ in Hepworth’s garden in the poem “Sphere with Inner Form, 1963:. This latter poem ends:
But I won’t forget the way
my body curved around you,
held you, lulled in water for a while.
Curves relating to motherhood in the first part of the collection create a link to poems in ‘The Island’.Tthe second part opens with an ekphrastic poem, “Curved Form (Bryher II),1961”, responding to the sculpture on the cover of the collection. Tregenza describes a shared moment celebrating the news of pregnancy: ‘She was only eight weeks – / small as a sea anemone ’. The sea imagery continues with a description of the wind ‘which sang like sea-strings/ through the cracks’. (An earlier poem “Strung” also seems to refer to this sculpture). “Blessing” captures the moments after birth: ‘We watched your tiny form in awe./ A blessing, blessed, complete.’ In “Anniversary”, the daughter is fondly described as a ‘hooded shrimp’ and ‘our gooseberry sea squirt’. The poem ends with a memorable image:
Above us, the afternoon light pales, becomes
a white sheet tucked tight at the corners
on the sky’s empty bed.
The light of Cornwall, so important to artists, permeates the collection. In “One day this summer”, ‘The sun hammers down’ and the poet questions ‘Could heaven be here/ on a day like this, the light of paradise’. “Eclipse” describes watching the sky in the lead-up to an eclipse in Tresco, Isles of Scilly: ‘a coral band of light on the horizon’ and then ends: ‘Everything new and ringed with gold’. Vegetable names even contribute to the theme of light in “Walled Garden”: ‘Sun Gold, Bright Lights, Rainbow Chard’. In the very visual poem “Song for Lamorna”, ‘Mounts Bay lies beaten/ burnished as Newlyn Copper’.
This collection is very carefully crafted, creating a close-knit tribute to Hepworth and a personal celebration of family. The poem “Pelagos, 1946” (the Greek word for ‘sea’) which imagines Hepworth starting a day’s work, nicely contains many of the themes mentioned in this review: curve, rhythm, light, even a form of conversation (‘counterpoint’) with ‘the screams/ of wind and water.’ The later poem “Pelagos, 2023 (St Ives)” looks to the future:
the hard years behind us,
embracing whatever lies
beyond The Island.
To quote the poet’s words in “Notes on a Butterfly Dream”, ‘we’re part of this landscape’ and the reader is left with a sense that ‘light pours into every space’. This collection will be particularly enjoyed by those who admire Hepworth and appreciate all Cornwall has to offer in terms of landscape, seascape, art and poetry.
Apr 11 2026
London Grip Poetry Review – Vivienne Tregenza
Poetry review — CONVERSATIONS WITH MAGIC STONES: Sue Wallace-Shaddad admires how the techniques of writing and sculpture are related in Vivienne Tregenza’s collection inspired by the life & work of Barbara Hepworth
Conversations with Magic Stones
Vivienne Tregenza
Indigo Dreams Publishing
ISBN 978-1-912876-96-9
64pp £10.00
Vivienne Tregenza’s new collection, Conversations with Magic Stones, is inspired by the life and work of Cornish-based sculptor Barbara Hepworth. The first half of the collection, entitled ‘Form’ features poems about Hepworth whereas the second half, entitled ‘The Island’ takes us on a more personal journey experienced by the poet. The two parts are linked by a strong sense of Cornish landscape. There is a conversation between poet and sculptor throughout.
The words “Conversations with Magic Stones”, the title of the first poem, are words written by Hepworth herself (Tregenza includes such words in italics in various poems). Writing in the imagined voice of the sculptor, Tregenza uses rhyme which reinforces the ‘rhythm of the sculptor’s hammer’. The idea of conversation returns in “Chipping Away” where the poet responds to sculptures in Hepworth’s garden. Comparing writing to sculpting, she writes: ‘Part of the conversation, I’ll leave my small marks here:/ imperfectly.’ In the villanelle “Gravyor” (Hepworth’s bardic name, meaning ‘sculptor’), the repetition of the word ‘chiselling’ evokes the repetitive carving by the sculptor and the reader finds reference to conversations again in ‘[…] you find meaning/ in materials, in granite conversations.’
The last line of the first poem reads: ‘I heard wind mould granite, waves carve the shore’. This ability of nature to sculpt the landscape features strongly in the collection. The poem “Balancing Act” portrays Hepworth balancing the different roles and people in her life; this is also mirrored in the landscape: ‘feeling the tension/ between land and sea’. In “Passing Through”, Hepworth is described as ‘granite-strong, wind-strung’. Both ‘granite’ and ‘wind’ feature in the poem “Set in Stone” but the poet adds a new dimension at the end, playing on the crafting of sculpture and poetry: ‘So does it matter if our words/ are set in stone or not?’
The poem “Form” explores the existence of both ‘tension’ and ‘structure and rhythm’ in the sculptor’s work and personal life. The consideration of form is equally essential for a poet and the poem itself has the rhyming structure and rhythm of the pantoum. In “Summerhouse Villanelle”, the poet writes: ‘but what she left behind is her delight/ in rhythm, structure and in form’. In “Tools”, the first two lines state ‘The poet is a sculptor/ setting out her tools’ and then Tregenza adds ‘[…] the writing hand/ finds its form’.
Hepworth harnesses curves and circles in her sculptures and this is picked up in many poems. “Barbara Hepworth Contemplates the Universe”, ponders Hepworth’s possible wider inspiration:
the circles of her mind
reflecting the great circles
of the universe; […]
The words ‘scoured curve of rock’ and ‘peepholes’ feature in “Tides 1, 1946” and the poet suggests the ‘roundness’ of ‘flowering quince’ in Hepworth’s garden in the poem “Sphere with Inner Form, 1963:. This latter poem ends:
But I won’t forget the way
my body curved around you,
held you, lulled in water for a while.
Curves relating to motherhood in the first part of the collection create a link to poems in ‘The Island’.Tthe second part opens with an ekphrastic poem, “Curved Form (Bryher II),1961”, responding to the sculpture on the cover of the collection. Tregenza describes a shared moment celebrating the news of pregnancy: ‘She was only eight weeks – / small as a sea anemone ’. The sea imagery continues with a description of the wind ‘which sang like sea-strings/ through the cracks’. (An earlier poem “Strung” also seems to refer to this sculpture). “Blessing” captures the moments after birth: ‘We watched your tiny form in awe./ A blessing, blessed, complete.’ In “Anniversary”, the daughter is fondly described as a ‘hooded shrimp’ and ‘our gooseberry sea squirt’. The poem ends with a memorable image:
Above us, the afternoon light pales, becomes
a white sheet tucked tight at the corners
on the sky’s empty bed.
The light of Cornwall, so important to artists, permeates the collection. In “One day this summer”, ‘The sun hammers down’ and the poet questions ‘Could heaven be here/ on a day like this, the light of paradise’. “Eclipse” describes watching the sky in the lead-up to an eclipse in Tresco, Isles of Scilly: ‘a coral band of light on the horizon’ and then ends: ‘Everything new and ringed with gold’. Vegetable names even contribute to the theme of light in “Walled Garden”: ‘Sun Gold, Bright Lights, Rainbow Chard’. In the very visual poem “Song for Lamorna”, ‘Mounts Bay lies beaten/ burnished as Newlyn Copper’.
This collection is very carefully crafted, creating a close-knit tribute to Hepworth and a personal celebration of family. The poem “Pelagos, 1946” (the Greek word for ‘sea’) which imagines Hepworth starting a day’s work, nicely contains many of the themes mentioned in this review: curve, rhythm, light, even a form of conversation (‘counterpoint’) with ‘the screams/ of wind and water.’ The later poem “Pelagos, 2023 (St Ives)” looks to the future:
the hard years behind us,
embracing whatever lies
beyond The Island.
To quote the poet’s words in “Notes on a Butterfly Dream”, ‘we’re part of this landscape’ and the reader is left with a sense that ‘light pours into every space’. This collection will be particularly enjoyed by those who admire Hepworth and appreciate all Cornwall has to offer in terms of landscape, seascape, art and poetry.