Celebrating the West End

A literary celebration of Lincoln’s West End has been published recognising the importance of green spaces in the city.

Poet Maryse Smith wanted to write about the flora and fauna thriving on her doorstep, but was unsure where to start, however, in the middle of winter 2023 she gained inspiration as the days began to draw out.

“It was a lovely sunset, sort of orange and pink, and then suddenly there was a murmuration which went on for quite a long time and I just thought ‘there we are, we’ve got a starting point’,” said Maryse.

“A lot of the things in the book are about birds we’ve got in the garden, flowers, just things that are really commonplace and people take for granted.”

Maryse explained that through the lockdowns of the Covid-19 pandemic, people who lived around her in the West End began to appreciate the freedom and space the Common offers.

“During the pandemic everybody who lives near me really used the West Common for the first time and people really began to value it. We take it for granted when it’s on our doorstep, but when we all have to stay in and we can only be out for an hour a day it really came into its own.”

Westfield: An Almanac marks each month of the year with a poem accompanied by illustrations from Penny Toone and other local artists honouring the birds, flowers, insects and other wildlife that call Lincoln home. The anthology is dedicated to Maryse’s late sister Wendy Wainman who nurtured her love of poetry.

Copies are available to buy from Lindum Books and The Sycamore on West Parade, with all profits going to Oxfam’s Gaza Appeal.