On The Hill

On The Hill is a project and podcast about the history of Cornish cemeteries and what the literary podcast form can do when combining academic and history research, creative writing and discussions about creative practice and who do the stories buried in ancient cemeteries belong to. This project also seeks to discover what the remediation of creative writing practice can achieve through the use of the podcast format, run by Dr Sherezade García Rangel, a former Lecturer in English & Creative Writing at the School of Communication. Her research focused on the narratives of objects and death, and examined how immersive experiences inspired by them can lead to new understandings of our relationship with both. This project aims to reassemble the stories of people and places, helping us to understand the present by looking at the past through original writing.

As built environments for death, mourning and for holding space for the departed, cemeteries have long been linked to storytelling which tenderly walks the line between historical and fiction.

Creative responses to stories inspired by or about cemeteries demonstrate the engaging, moving spectrum that immersive storytelling of the departed can achieve (Perthi Kov, 2017; Richards, 2004; Saunders, 2018; Wild Works, 2018).

Through immersive narrative non-fiction, historical research, immersive audio and original writing, On The Hill analyses who these stories belong to, how our collective memory engages with lives long lost, why we build cemeteries and how we remain present/dormant after death. This combination illuminates new aspects of our realities by examining the legacies of the past.

Each life reveals a moment in history and ties back to the construction of the cemetery, allowing the exploration of human experience and what it means to be departed. The legacies signalled by the gravestones in Cornish cemeteries provoke questions and identify learnings we can carry forward. Season One explores Falmouth Cemetery.

Led by Dr Sherezade García Rangel as the creator, producer, principal researcher and writer, editor and host of the On The Hill podcast, this project featured original writing from a host of talented writers associated with the School of Writing and Journalism. This season's contributing writers include:
 

• Dr Amy Lilwall – researcher and writer for Episode 02 about Mary Monk and Episode 06 about Countess Ellen Odette
• A J Dalton – researcher and writer for Episode 01 about Sir John Alleyne and Episode 05 about Henry Philip Creese, a deck engineer in the Titanic.
• Anna Kiernan – writer for Episode 04 about local artist Winnifred Freeman
• Dr Jennifer Young – writer for Episode 07 about the last mail coach guard in Falmouth, William Bilkey
• Falmouth graduate Alex Horn is a voice actor for On The Hill and another graduate, C F Sherratt designed the podcast logo. Local band We Are Muffy sing the podcast's theme song, Precious Things. Dr Sherezade García Rangel's writing is featured in Episode 03 about Chung Shin and Episode 08 about Miśko Molnár.

On The Hill works with We Love Falmouth Cemetery to promote the knowledge of this built landscape and the recognition of its local history. Future seasons will examine other cemeteries in Cornwall.