The Bottle of Notes is a huge piece of public art outside the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, the key work in a retrospective exhibition of art by (and inspired by) the makers Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen; and the focus of our 2025 poetry residency.
Poets Eithne Longstaff and Ann Cuthbert have collaborated on a series of poems, a film-poem, and a special doodle-pad available as a creative prompt for visitors to the exhibition. They will perform their poetry at the Art + Social on Thursday 5th June, but we can show you their beautiful film-poem here now!
The poem is a renga, a call-and-response form that engages two or more poets in a collaborative journey of imagery and associations threaded together in couplets and haiku. Although the traditional Japanese renga is written by poets coming together in a location for a period of time, modern renga can be made digitally and remotely – ‘Messages’ was made over a number of weeks, by email, to reflect the Bottle of Notes associations of messages sent and received.
Ann and Eithne kept notes as they developed the renga, and this commentary is an invaluable resource for anyone wondering how the process works – what exactly is it that makes poets leap from one inage or idea to the next?? Here is exactly how it happened…
bottled messages
await interpretation
Venus bright above
or
messages enclosed
bottle rolls in on the tide
Venus shines above
Ann: We’re going with the second one. I wanted to start with the theme we’re pursuing. And the artwork it’s based on. The idea of traditionally setting a haiku/tanka in a season gave me the idea about Venus – the words around the bottle mention the planet Venus but also, at this time of year, Venus is very clear in the night sky.
light passes through clear glass
love finds a way
or
to do list: lighten up
buy milk, fall in love
Eithne: I decided to respond to Ann’s second option, I was draw to the concrete imagery of the tide and the rolling bottle. To do a ‘message’ in Northern Ireland means to carry out a mundane task, like compete the items on a shopping list, so that’s where the ‘to-do list’ came from, and then I wanted to mention love as in Venus the goddess of love and bottles made me think of milk bottles! I wanted to mix concrete and abstract ideas too so added the ‘lighten up’
you swirl in my head
froth heart on barista coffee
patterns my day
Ann: I loved the capping lines with the ‘to do list’. Mention of milk set me thinking about coffee and the designs baristas create with milky froth. Bottle of Notes has a swirl of words so I started thinking about that and how to link it to Eithne’s mention of falling in love. I was undecided about the verb in the last line – played with circling/drawing but ended up with patterning then made it more active with ‘patterns’.
snow drifts melt, become drops
hours of Spring promise
Eithne: The froth on a barista coffee made me think of snow and when we drink a coffee, the froth disappears, so I got to snow melting…and then I wanted to respond to Ann’s reference to ‘days’ and a day is made of hours and then I thought of how the snowdrops appear only for a short time and yet herald such hopefulness, in the same way that a message in a bottle can also signal hope
inside the box
onion-skin letters lie
I give you my word
Or
the bells are silent
leaf through old airmail letters
cling to desire
Ann : My thinking leading to these 2 – the idea of hope made me think of Pandora’s Box – and ‘Spring’ made me think of Jack- in-the Box – so I started with a box – but what could be inside? I had a picture of a box of old letters written on very thin paper. ‘Promise’ made me think of keeping your promise, keeping your word so that led to the play on the word ‘lie’ and the affirmation. The silent bells came from the snowdrops. Hope can be a longing or desire for something – hopes can be dashed or you can cling to them.
contrail unzips the sky ring me when you land Eithne: I loved both of these but was very drawn to the second with the mention of bells and airmail letters. The reference to air travel made me think of how contrails bisect our skies and when they grow fuzzy it can look a little like a zip opening (to me anyway!). This fitted quite ell with ‘desire’ – the slow unzipping of a dress perhaps ! and I couldn’t resist the sound of ringing associated with bells and the introduction of a you and therefore an I to respond to the conversation that Ann suggests
you’ve lost the scent
dirty washing’s not unpacked
Earth mask covers my face
Ann: The unzipping image is brilliant – very visual with lots of connotations. I could see the erotic overtones – but also the idea of opening up, giving up a secret. The word trail had implications of following – like following a scent (which also kept the desire image going). But I wanted to get away from the cosy story of being met off a plane so turned it. The secret isn’t out – there’s no washing of dirty linen in public. There’s still a disguise. I brought Earth into it because we hadn’t had any planets for a while! And you can use ‘mud’ as a face mask lol.
The clock ticks around to midnight
blood moon colours the sea
Eithne: There is a lot for me to work with in Ann’s lines 😊 the first word that stands out is ‘face’ and I think of the face of a clock and the face of the moon. The next partial lunar eclipse in UK is 14th March 2025 and it’s during an eclipse that we can see a blood moon. When we do our washing sometimes the colours run and this is why I’ve suggested the blood moon colouring the sea. I’m also alluding to climate change with my first sentence – humanity is nearly at its ‘midnight’ in terms of viability of the earth
no threat - this is real
scribble over what you can
green crayon in hand
Ann: Climate change is real – actual, not just hanging. I wanted something to go with the vivid image of the moon colouring the sea –thus the idea of a crayon. And scribbling because that’s what children often do when they colour in – and it also was meant to give the idea of needing haste. And I used the imperative! Green of course (bit obvious) is environmentally friendly. And hand was meant to link with the clock.
children’s playgroup chatter
mum stands alone in the corner
Eithne: Colouring-in or drawing is a popular and common activity at most playgroups, and crayons are often used. I wanted something grounding to go with the ‘this is real’ and the hubbub and chatter in a children’s playgroup is the soundtrack to the very immediate experience of being with young children. When there is a threat, we often retreat and sometimes find ourselves in a corner. This mum feels herself alone amid all the noise and colour; she is threatened by loneliness.
corner-shop birthday present
tied with ribbon,
a red bow smile
Eithne: And we’ve switched and this is my first 3 liner, responding to myself! ‘Chatter’ led to box, led to present and ‘corner’ made me think of the corner shop. I know I’ve repeated the word corner, but I tried this with ‘the shop down the road’ or ‘the local shop’ and it didn’t quite work, so I just went with the corner-shop. When we are alone we are often silent, or tongue tied, this is why I added the ribbon in a bow. I wanted a positive ending for this lonely mum so turned the bow into a smile.
keepsake curls round in a drawer
spying into the past
Ann : I liked the corner-shop reference which linked back to doing the messages in a previous capping. I also liked the vivid ribbon image. I was thinking of presents that children buy or make for their mam or grandma. And that often get kept for years. So the ribbon is curled up and kept as a reminder – then I thought it could be like a view into the past – like a spyglass – but now with the ‘spying’ it sounds a bit sinister I’m afraid.
road winds between dark fields
cat’s eyes show the way
to our homeland
Eithne: I love the imagery of the keepsake curling round and immediately thought of curled up cats and winding roads. Cat’s eyes help us see a way forward and then couldn’t resist homeland instead of home – a reference to homeland security (maybe I have watched too many US spy dramas!). I’ve used ‘our’ instead of ‘the’ to suggest people travelling together, a joint endeavor.
mirror flashes its message
at last you've found yourself
Or
pale smoke rises reassuring
safe haven is in sight
Ann: There were so many stories to work with in Eithne’s lines. I pictured the cats eyes reflecting which led me to ‘mirror’ – and mirrors are used in signalling so this linked to messages. And there seemed to be a quest going on with the winding road and dark fields – maybe a search for identity (‘homeland’.) They also indicated danger. These and ‘homeland’ did give me the idea of looking for safety – the smoke rising signals this.
‘I am a lake’ writes Sylvia
grass covers her grave
at Heptonstall
OR
beacons on the hills
burn orange
ancient ring of fire
Eithne : Two excellent sets of lines. I responded to each. The mention of ‘mirror’ reminded me immediately of Plath’s poem and its amazing consideration of identity and transience of life. This worked well with Ann’s reference to finding oneself, and to finish my bit I recall a visit to Plath’s grave last summer where I saw her grave; grassed and wild.
The second response hinges on the ‘pale smoke rising’ and doubles down on this by referencing beacons which have been used for 100s of years to signal and communicate momentous events.
pilgrims bring pencil offerings
scratch at that other name
Ann: I couldn’t resist Sylvia’s mirror. When I visited her grave a few years ago, there were pens and pencils that had been brought almost ritually I thought and left there. And of course, the visible attempts to get rid of ‘Hughes’.
the sea gives back the shore
trail of broken shells
marks a tipping point
Eithne: I love Ann’s reference to the marks on Plath’s grave and there was a lot to work with here. In history, pilgrims often wore or carried shells as symbols of protection or to mark their journey, so I wanted to include shells in my response. A pencil makes marks, and I wanted to reference how often when the sea recedes, we see a line of shells and other items marking the point at which the receding tide was not strong enough to pull them back to sea. The sea has made an ‘offering’ to the shore.
in Redcar front arcades
coins clatter down Tuppenny Falls
Ann: I could really picture that tideline of debris – great link with pilgrim shells – and the idea of the sea giving the shore back is very clever and complex. I worked around this for a while – giving up, being generous but only for a short time – who gives? who takes? Then the tipping point interested me – and I thought of those slot machines at the seaside – even though it’s rigged against you, you still think you will win. And I really like the name of the machines – Tuppenny Falls – it sounds geographical – lol
one ton of car is turned,
welded; a Leaf showers
in electric confetti
Eithne: Your lines made me think of machines and repeated motion and the use of the word falls made me think of leaves ; so I’ve taken a trip to Sunderland
rub amber till its charged
the friction of feathery joy
Ann: A good place to take a trip! I played around with the confetti image for a while – discovered all sorts about its history and symbolism. And welded/ wedded was also a possibility. But the electric part of Eithne’s lines interested me a lot. I learned that the word electric comes from Greek elektra which means amber – if rubbed with a soft cloth amber will pick up lightweight things like feathers.
bees laze in lavender
drops on my pillow
honeyed dreams
Eithne: I was particularly struck by the mention of amber. Insects get trapped in the resin as it cools and I like the imagery of the charged amber attracting other items or particles. This made me think of bees in the garden being attracted to flowers. Dreams can make us feel good or joyful so I wanted to make a leap between the bees and sleep so thought of how we use lavender to relax us.
Nature's timebomb dandelion clock
a soft wake-up call
Ann: I got a bit carried away with the idea of bees – bumblebees have the Latin name Bombus and they are keen on dandelions as well as lavender – so that is what led to my first line. Then the honeyed dreams led me to the idea of waking up – and we have already had mention of the ecological crisis so maybe this is another alert.
silver surfers cause
an internet explosion
never write us off
Ann: We’ve swapped again so I am answering the last couplet. My mam’s hair used to remind me of a dandelion clock – and now I have white hair too so it made me think of the expression ‘silver surfers’. And timebomb led to explosion but that internet explosion did actually happen because of older people. So there’s the idea that just because people are older doesn’t mean they can’t keep up with tech developments especially in communication.
in my element at the blank page
fountain pen in hand
Eithne: This is a strong message and an important one with several leaping off points for a response. Silver is an element, so I knew straight away that I wanted to include this word and surfers of course surf on the sea which made me consider other bodies of water. Connecting to the overriding theme of messages, this led me to fountain pen – I’m enjoying using mine again now that I have more time to write. On my phone, I have many open ‘pages’ courtesy of the internet, so everything came together in my couplet.
frost sugars roofs
on the lawn ink-shiny blackbirds
peck half-moon apples
Ann: I can just picture you there Eithne. And isn’t the word element an interesting one with so many connotations? Wild things are at the mercy of the elements. It was a cold morning. I love blackbirds and at this time of year they are so shiny like the writing from a fountain pen. And we hadn’t mentioned the moon for a while lol.
daffodils open beside
black and white wedding photo
Eithne: I love blackbirds and am especially draw to the bright orange-yellow beaks of the male. Thinking about this colour and what else we see on lawns brought me to daffodils. Mention of frost and ink made me think black & white and co-incidentally a black and white photograph of my mum and dad adorns the wall in my workspace, so I was drawn to this.
monochrome they beam then
at family and friends
now bright love remains
Ann: Eithne shared her photo with me and it is so joyful. And I have photos of my mam and dad together, laughing – both when they are young (in black and white) and old. So I wanted to have that sense of being in 2 times. But also of course that Philip Larkin ‘what will remain of us…’ feeling.
flaming factory flare
candle on the horizon
Eithne: I immediately went to sun beams but wanted to take it a little further than that so thought of other solar associated words and landed on flare. With my engineering background this brought me to a factory flare which burns when there are excess gases which are burned rather than being released to atmosphere. Flares are sometimes seen in the Teesside sky. Ann mentions family and friends, and we often gather at birthdays or other celebrations where there is often a cake and candles. Relating the flare to a candle was a neat next step.
nature squeezes in
with pipes and pylons backcloth
peewits wheel and cry
Ann: I really like the candle image – but the flares of course made me think of our nearby industrial skyline which led me to picture RSPB Saltholme in the middle of it all – where nature just won’t be kept out. I love seeing the flocks of lapwings/peewits circling there – and their call is so plaintive.
painted countryside rolls
Of the stage is set for a weepie
Eithne: The first words that grabs my attention is backcloth and this takes me to painting and the painted backcloths that are used in theatres. These are sometimes on rolls which are unfurled when needed and rolls fits well with wheel. I’ve referenced the cry of the peewits by making my play a weepie, I also like to same ‘ee’ sound in both words.
Valentine's card shows
happy hearts and turtle doves
it's open-ended
Ann: Yes I really like how peewit and weepie echo each other. A weepie implies romance of some kind so as it will soon be Feb 14th and there are lots of cards in the shops, I picked that. ‘Shows’ is supposed to link to the stage. And there’s the opportunity for the narrative to go either way.
shopping centre atrium
glass dome pretends to be sky
Eithne: The heart’s chambers are atria, singular atrium and this took me to open spaces inside buildings such as shopping centres. A turtle has a curved shell, so I gave my atrium a glass dome and posit that it pretends to be sky; its presence is somewhat open-ended.
cloud sculptures
dig dinosaur dad
heavenly reels algorithm
Eithne: My response (to myself!) hinges on the phrase ‘pretends to be sky’. I often look for meaning or messages in cloud formations and wonder do my desires and needs affect what my mind creates from the masses of clouds presented to me? This pulls us back to messages too!
chanters skirl dancers circle
step-by-step choices are made
Ann: I do that too! I like your pictures and had ideas of dogs running after sticks, then the sticks turned into arrows giving directions – like an algorithm (maybe I haven’t got that right). I also thought about film reels and therefore sprockets for a while – what a good word. But I settled on 2 of Eithne’s words to focus in on – reel and algorithm. Reel became a dance – I wanted bagpipes cos I love the skirl but I’d used the word pipes very recently so chanters instead. And dancers going step by step like an algorithm but not without choice.
old friends link arms
on a pavement stroll
what’s the craic today?
Eithne: What a lovely set of capping lines; so full of movement and agency! The description of the dancing made me think of ceilidhs – and this is where we go to have some craic, and often we ask each other what’s the craic, meaning what’s the news. So I knew I wanted to end on this. With the strong imagery created with Ann’s words, I thought of people linked at the elbow , so I describe some friends walking arm in arm having a chat about their day.
Now then! Alright? Aye champion
proper Baltic out here like
Ann: I went with the craic – ended up with a bit of a mix of local patois, like.
glass lift going up
river and city revealed
set up an easel
Eithne: Am immediately drawn to the mention of Baltic which takes me to BALTIC in Gateshead. The most enjoyable part of any visit I take there is the ride in the lift and the view out towards the city and Tyne below. I believe this cityscape is worthy of any artist’s attention, thus the invitation to set up an easel. Also a nice link back to MIMA as we draw to the end of the renga.
millennium bridge tilts years pass
in the blink of an eye
Ann: I can feel the movement of that lift and see the view. Love the setting up of the easel – opening the hinges idea of it led me to the bridge next to Baltic opening – they call it the blinking eye bridge – and I was thinking – how are we now a quarter of a century into the new millenium?
Tees Women Poets 