Four friends, all teachers at Penryn College, although three are now retired, have realised an ambition after setting out on a creative journey, to write poetry and to publish an anthology.

Working together as the local poetry group, Voices Unleashed, the result of their hard work and determination is The River of Life, which was published last month and saw its official launch at Falmouth Art Gallery.

Unusually, the slim anthology of reflective, accessible and heartfelt poems contains a number of intentionally blank pages. The reader is invited to add their own poetry to the volume - there’s even room to add their name and the titles of poems to the contents page.

The four members of Voices Unleashed, Linda Muller, Janet Phillips, Sarah Thomas and Christine Yearsley, have all written poetry in the past, but had never before shared their writing with each other or any wider audience. Having met regularly for over a year to read each other’s work, they decided to take the next step and publish. They have been so delighted with this creative journey, and the support the group gives them individually, they hit upon the idea of leaving room in their publication for others to write poems.

The idea is that the anthology will inspire others too. Linda said: "If writing brings you pleasure, then try to find time to do it. There are pages at the end of this anthology just waiting to be filled with poems, so start writing. We shouldn’t allow our creativity to be stifled because we are worried about what others think."

Illustrated by Penwith woodcut artist Angela Annesley and designed by Steve Collinson at xgraphica, the anthology is very much a local collaboration. The collective have been involved at every step of the anthology’s production, from its design, to commissioning illustration and witnessing its lithoprinting at Booths in Penryn.

"We’re definitely not critics or guardians of literary standards," added Linda. "We know everyone needs support and encouragement - and a positive audience. We’d be delighted if this inspired others to write something down, or get together and talk about writing. It’s never too late to begin."