Beccles Is, Beccles Was, Beccles Says

'Beccles Is, Beccles Was, Beccles Says' is a video poem created by the people of the town, with poet Dean Parkin, as a commission for the Beccles Festival in 2012.

Throughout the summer of 2012, 'What Beccles Means To Me' postcards were distributed around the town appealing for contributions. These resulted in over 200 people getting in touch and sharing their thoughts. During this same period Dean was also busy photographing, filming and recording the sights and sounds of Beccles, gathering material for the film.

In September, Dean ran a series of workshops with various local groups - from schools to residential homes - to stimulate more words, lines and details. After his last workshop on Wednesday 19 September, Dean spent the next three days weaving together all this material to create the final poem which was premiered at the Beccles Festival Celebration Service at St Michael's Church on Sunday 23 September 2012 and is now available here.