In Christmas week, a displaced New York poet with an elusive past is asked to give permission for a biography – and suddenly feels everything, life and work entire, at stake. An exclusive story by acclaimed novelist Candida Clark.

Across a dozen years, the experience of hearing Jacques Derrida lecture remains for Candida Clark an indelible invitation to a new way of seeing.

From the South China Sea to Florida's South Beach; lobsters and sharks; icebergs, canals and coral reefs - openDemocracy's “Shorelines” project has offered a lyrical combination of voice, image and narrative. Now, as it reaches the shore's limit, get ready for the big swell. We present an exclusive compilation: the sound of the sea and a pick of some of our best images.

“Even in his sleep he longed for the ocean”. On the edge of England’s wild North Yorkshire coast, openDemocracy crosses generations in this exclusive of sound, photography and storytelling. Hear Candida Clark read from her acclaimed novel of grief and redemption, “The Mariner’s Star”, while her mother, Sally Heywood, evokes the experience of a once-vibrant fishing community and remembers “the last of the last”.

Candida Clark introduces Jeff Nuttall, Ann Drysdale recalls an extraordinary life-force who left his subterranean mark on a generation of free spirits in post-1960s Britain, and - alongside two Jeff Nuttall poems - Adam Horovitz celebrates him in verse from a Welsh mountain graveside.

In the story of an epic wartime journey whose source lies in the intimacy of a profound love, the novelist Candida Clark finds both humanity and wisdom. Anthony Minghella’s latest cinematic epic is a great love story. As such, it is also a great anti-war story. The film is set during the American Civil War of 1861-65, but apart from early scenes – which vie with Saving Private Ryan for sheer realism – there are no battles, few explosions, no sense of war-plan or stratagem. Nor are there martyrs or heroes.

New and ancient poetry and images will be added to this space over the coming weeks and months. In the latest issue, we go to China.

New and ancient poetry and images will be added to this space over the coming weeks and months, starting with Yosano Akiko’s Hair in Sweet Disorder.

Iconic, mythic and symbolic. The stuff of disputes, dreams and fascination. Hair has the power to draw crowds and capture the imagination. Here, we start to look at how, and why.

The encounter with the women of Worcester is for its co-editor also an illuminating journey of the mind.

Imagination is a precious weapon against the tyranny of terrorism. It reveals our connectedness to reality, and to one another. It’s a way of being free.