Years ago Ways With Words produced a car sticker that said, “Get your Wordsworth at Ways With Words”. That was before we started our literature festival in Cumbria.
Now that Words by the Water is one of our major festivals I think we should revive the sticker though I often wonder what Wordsworth would make of our festival on his home territory. Would he come? Would he do a reading? How many people would buy tickets? Maybe he’d walk the 20 miles from Grasmere to Keswick and bring Dorothy with him. Everyone is intrigued by his sister Dorothy. Frances Wilson has written her biography and at Words by the Water gave her views on the passionate relationship between brother and sister. She is coming to Ways With Words at Dartington Hall in July to do a repeat performance. What a pity though that we can’t get Dorothy to read from her journals:
Wm slept badly. I baked pies and bread. William worked hard at The Pedlar and tired himself.
…..Coleridge’s were very melancholy letters, he had been very ill in his bowels.
Maybe they would cancel after they had agreed to come to the festival. According to Dorothy William and Coleridge had a lot of colds and headaches and were often “nervous and jaded”. Not what a festival director wants to hear. I can just imagine the conversation.
“Coleridge has bowel troubles. William has had to take laudanum. I’m afraid they can’t come to the festival.”
Wordsworth, Coleridge, Ruskin, Southey, Beatrix Potter: all would have been welcome at our Cumbrian festival. Instead we have to make do with their ghosts haunting us and making sure we don’t neglect poetry at Words by the Water.
Dates for your diary:
Next year’s Words by the Water runs from 27 February – 8 March 2009.
Frances Wilson will speak on Dorothy Wordsworth at 3.30pm on Tuesday 15 July at Dartington Hall, Devon.
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