VIRGINIA ASTLEY

Virginia Astley has had a career as a singer songwriter from the 1980s onwards. From her many collaborations with a variety of notable names in the music industry, through to her own solo career, Virginia has created her own particular style. Virginia’s first album, co-produced with Russell Webb, was From Gardens Where We Feel Secure, released in 1983. In 1986 she worked with Ryuichi Sakamoto on her album Hope in a Darkened Heart. Later she recorded All Shall Be Well and Had I the Heavens for Nippon Columbia. During the 1990s Virginia wrote a musical based on the novel The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy. Several other writing projects include a long poem based on a twenty-four hour walk set to music, Maiden Newton Ecliptic. Her pamphlet The Curative Harp won Ireland’s Fool for Poetry chapbook competition in 2015 and was published by Southword. Her first book-length collection, The English River; a journey down the Thames in poems and photographs was published by Bloodaxe in 2018.​Grafton lock is on the upper reaches of the Thames. She made the audio piece ‘Grafton’ for PLACE2020 after reflecting on the natural environment she encountered whilst camping and walking near the river.