James Platt

West of Castle Rock: Port Isaac, for Letter or for Verse, 1944-1950 James Platt

The natural beauty in which the North Cornish village of Port Isaac is set incorporates grand skies and seascapes, a coastline of boldly rugged cliffs and tight coves, and deep valleys alive with green woods reaching back into rich and rolling farmland. These delights have provided inspiration to generations of artistic endeavour. They have been exuberantly painted and photographed in all their moods to create a glorious gallery of memories fit to excite all admirers of fine scenery blended with buoyant rural history and an appealing quaintness. The pieces of verse collected together between these covers celebrate such characteristic qualities of the village and its people as they were in the years after the end of the Second World War using written images that are intended to both complement and extend the visual. They deal with the taut canvas of life then as it was lived, for good or ill, for better or for verse.