The words of First World War soldiers will be brought to life at an Ipswich arts festival.

Dedham artist Lucy Greeves and photographer Eleanor Skan will present Turned Red Earth at the SPILL festival at Ipswich Waterfront.

This year’s theme is Time and artists will honour the past with a programme of artworks marking 100 years since the First World War ended.

Turned Red Earth is a book of poems written by Lucy inspired by touching and detailed descriptions of nature found in soldiers’ letters from the war.

During her research and writing of scripts for the BBC history section, Lucy was touched by the tender way many of the men spoke about birds, flowers and the beauty of landscape, even amidst the awful destruction of trench warfare.

Ipswich Star: Lucy Greeves wrote all the poetry from letters written by soldiers. PICTURE: ELEANOR SKANLucy Greeves wrote all the poetry from letters written by soldiers. PICTURE: ELEANOR SKAN (Image: ELEANOR SKAN)

Lucy, who has also written a book with comedian Jimmy Carr, said: “I hope people will be moved like I was, as this side of soldiers is not one you often see - I hope lots of people will be able to relate to it.”

Images of 10 flowers used in the book were all found within a mile from Lucy’s house in Dedham, and will be used to create a billboard display at the waterfront, which will be completed by Thursday.

“The billboard is really exciting as usually my work just sits on a bookshelf,” said Lucy, who grew up in Cambridge.

“It’s the first time my work will be displayed in this way and I’m really looking forward to being a part of the SPILL festival.”

Ipswich Star: The limited edition book includes words by Lucy Greeves and images by Eleanor Skan. Picture: ELEANOR SKANThe limited edition book includes words by Lucy Greeves and images by Eleanor Skan. Picture: ELEANOR SKAN (Image: ELEANOR SKAN)

The project will predominantly be published as a limited edition artist’s book and set of prints, which will only be available for pre-orders by backers of their kickstarter campaign which closes on Thursday, October 18, and will fund the printing of the book.

Any proceeds from the book will be shared with Combat Stress, the veteran’s mental health charity.

The SPILL festival runs from October 25 to November 4 and presents the work of artists from around the world.

For more details visit the SPILL website or you can find out information about the Turned Red Earth book here

Ipswich Star: The limited edition book is 30 pages long and includes 10 different still-life flower photographs. Picture: ELEANOR SKANThe limited edition book is 30 pages long and includes 10 different still-life flower photographs. Picture: ELEANOR SKAN (Image: ELEANOR SKAN)