'Wingbeats' was an ambitous cultural project inspired by our perennial wish to fly and the paradoxical question: how can we fly without leaving the ground? Over a period of two years, the project brought together international and UK artists, school children, university students and residents of the East Riding to create two ambitous operas performed in Leeds and Bridlington. For this book, Adam Strickson, lead artist for Wingbeats, has compiled a fascinating selection of material from the project including poems, excerpts from diaries and blogs, and the full texts of both operas.