Arts and Book Festival 2013

The Wordsworth Hotel, Grasmere
25-27 January 2013

The Wordsworth Trust is proud to present the 2013 Arts & Book Festival, a vibrant programme of readings, talks and workshops illuminating aspects of literature and the visual arts.

The Festival will take place in the 4-star Wordsworth Hotel in the centre of the beautiful village of Grasmere, a short walk from Dove Cottage, home of the poet William Wordsworth.

This year we explore the lives of great Romantic figures with Nicholas Roe, and Jenny Uglow discussing new biographies of Keats and Sarah Losh respectively.

Matthew Sturgis looks at the Romantic influence on the development of Rome as a tourist destination. Antiquarian bookseller Joan Winterkorn will talk about some of the memorable manuscripts she has encountered and Cumbrian MP Rory Stewart will talk about the literature of travel. Poet Jean Sprackland gives us a personal perspective on landscape when she reads from and talks about her acclaimed prose book Strands, a collection of prose pieces which document her experiences beachcombing in Northwest England.

We’ll experience inventive ways to stage poetry readings with the acclaimed show I Gaze from My Kitchen like an Astronaut, featuring four acclaimed new voices, and there will be contemporary fiction from two fine Cumbrian novelists. We’ll also have an extensive range of workshops, readings, and small group sessions.

• Keats: A New Life: Author of the Romantic Poets, Nicholas Roe discusses his landmark biography of John Keats.
• The Romantics and Rome: Matthew Sturgis looks at the Romantic influence on the development of Rome as a tourist destination.
• Jaybird Presents: “I Gaze From My Kitchen Like an Astronaut”: A Poetry show with John McCullough, Karen McCarthy Woolf, Liane Strauss and Richard O’Brien.
• Excursions and Fair Adventures: The Valuation and Sale of English Literary Archives with Joan Winterkorn.
• Literature and Travel: John MP Rory Stewart for a personal exploration of travel literature.
• Strands: A Year of Discoveries on the Beach: with the award-winning poet Jean Sprackland.
• The Pinecone: The Story of Sarah Losh: Critically acclaimed biographer Jenny Uglow discusses her new biography of Sarah Losh.
• The Proof of Love: Catherine Hall will discuss her acclaimed second novel.
• A Division of the Light: Cumbrian Novelist and short story writer Christopher Burns will read from and talk about his first novel for 16 years.

Demonstrations, Workshops and Small Group Sessions:

• Artists Books for Writers: with the award-winning printmaker Hugh Bryden.
• Copperplate Printing: with renowned expert Christopher Bacon.
• Getting Started in Poetry: With the Wordsworth Trust’s Poet in Residence (TBA).
• Conservation of Fine Art: with Anne Bacon, a fellow of the International Institute for Conservation.
• Exploring Manuscripts: with conservator, Chris Clarkson, and the Wordsworth Trust’s Curator, Jeff Cowton.