Here - Ways With Words

Ways With Words
Festival of Words and Ideas
Dartington, Devon
3 – 13 July 2015
Enjoy the Bigger Picture at Ways With Words
We are often congratulated on our
efficiency; the smooth organisation of
the festivals; how calm we seem to be: it
is one of the positive aspects of running
Ways With Words. Much can go wrong
at a festival – and often does – but
we try to plan well in advance so the
festival can be pleasurable for everyone:
the speakers who attend, the visitors
who flock to Dartington Hall, ourselves
and the staff. What is the point of
having a festival where the stress levels
are so high no-one feels relaxed or able
to enjoy this truly amazing time?
This is not to minimise the amount of
work it takes to achieve this. There
are numerous rotas for each part of
the festival. At the start of each Ways
With Words we spend a lot of time
ordering books, flowers, wine; checking
that we know exactly when speakers
are arriving and departing; arranging and
briefing volunteers – and lots more.
But the reason behind the mundane
tasks is to deliver a memorable festival:
to get people thinking, questioning,
talking and laughing; to make sure that
visitors have an interesting, challenging
and unforgettable time. That is the main
purpose of a festival. It is necessary to
make sure that the administrative details
are arranged but throughout we try not
to lose sight of the bigger picture.
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WELCOME to Ways With Words at
Dartington Hall. If you like to relax with
books, ideas, beautiful gardens, good
food, warm conversation, then you will
love this festival. Many do and return
each year. Join them!
Kay Dunbar, Stephen Bristow
Chloë and Videl Bar-Kar
Festival Directors
President’s Introduction
I knew at once – nearly twenty years ago on my first visit
– that Dartington was a special, perhaps unique, festival.
Nowhere else do so many distinguished speakers inform and
entertain in an atmosphere of such informality. Readers and
writers, talkers and listeners mix, match and blend. I must
miss this year’s festival. But I shall be back for the twenty
fifth anniversary celebrations in 2016. I do not need to tell
you to enjoy yourselves in my absence.
You are at Dartington. Enjoyment is unavoidable.
Roy Hattersley
Festival President
Title Sponsor
Festival Sponsor
Official Bookselling Partner
Event Sponsors
Support in Kind
Friday 3 July – Great Hall
Alice Oswald
Paul Keegan
The Ted Hughes Memorial Lecture
1
2.30pm
Great Hall
£10
2
4pm
Great Hall
£10
Alice Oswald
and Paul Keegan –
In Conversation
Ted Hughes Memorial Event
Alice Oswald is an eminent poet
who, in 2010, won the inaugural Ted
Hughes Poetry Award. Paul Keegan
worked as Poetry Editor at Faber
and Faber where he edited Ted
Hughes’ poetry.
Together they discuss ‘A Ted
Hughes’ Bestiary’, a selection of
poems chosen by Alice Oswald.
In association with Carol Hughes
and Faber and Faber
Paul Heiney
The Quest
After his son committed suicide,
aged only 23, television presenter
Paul Heiney decided to set sail on
a voyage to Cape Horn to connect
with his son’s ‘voice’. This turned
out to be an important emotional
journey. Paul Heiney currently
presents the ITV prime-time show
‘Countrywise’.
Day Ticket: £24 (not including event 4)
3
5.30pm
Great Hall
£10
Terry Waite
Inspiration for Fiction:
Life’s Vicissitudes
4
8pm
Great Hall
£10
Simon Armitage
Poet, Walker and Troubadour
Unbelievable that being a hostage in
Lebanon with well over four years
spent in solitary confinement means
you learn to make people laugh, yet
Terry Waite has written a charming,
funny story that reminds the reader
that life is worth living.
As a sequel to Simon Armitage’s
acclaimed bestseller ‘Walking
Home’ he has written ‘Walking
Away’ – the story of his travels on
England’s south west coast. He acts
as a troubadour – giving poems in
exchange for bed and food. He’ll
offer poems and stories of his travels
today.
Paul Heiney
Terry Waite
Simon Armitage
Saturday 4 July – Great Hall
Margaret Heffernan
5
10am
Great Hall
£10
sponsored by
6
11.45am
Great Hall
£10
Karen Armstrong
Margaret Heffernan
Competition Celebrity Change:
A New Way of Thinking
The Olympics, X-Factor, The Rich
List, The Nobel Prize: everywhere
you look there is competition – for
fame, money, attention, status. Being
top seems to be everything – but
what is it costing us? Margaret
Heffernan is an entrepreneur, CEO
and writer. Her motto is, ‘Let’s not
play the game, let’s change it.’
Karen Armstrong
Religion and Violence
Karen Armstrong is one of the
world’s leading commentators on
religious affairs. She spent seven
years as a Roman Catholic nun in
the 1960s and now is a writer and
broadcaster. She is a best-selling
author of over 15 books. Her latest
is ‘Fields of Blood: Religion and the
History of Violence’.
Day Ticket: £48 (not including event 11)
Stanley Wells
Mary Portas
7
1.30pm
Great Hall
£10
Stanley Wells
Shakespeare Performed
8
3.15pm
Great Hall
£10
Mary Portas
talks to Peter Stanford
How Mary Portas Became
‘Queen of Shops’
sponsored by
Stanley Wells (described by Ways
With Words’ President Roy
Hattersley as ‘Our greatest authority
on Shakespeare’s life and work’)
gives an assessment of the specific
talents and claims to greatness of
individual actors. He examines what
it takes to be a great Shakespeare
actor.
Mary Portas regularly travels around
the world advising on retail strategy.
Her continued advocacy of our
High Streets led to an independent
review commissioned from the
British Government. She tells of
her upbringing in a large, Irish family
where she was a magnet for trouble.
Saturday 4 July – Great Hall
Peter Stanford
9
5pm
Great Hall
£10
10
6.30pm
Great Hall
£10
John Sergeant
Peter Stanford
Judas
Writer and broadcaster Peter
Stanford deconstructs that most
vilified of Bible characters: Judas
Iscariot, who famously betrayed
Jesus with a kiss. He investigates
how the very name Judas came to
be synonymous with betrayal and,
ultimately, human evil.
Peter Hennessy
and John Sergeant –
In Conversation
The State of British Politics
Ways With Words reunites Radio
4’s ‘Broadcasting House’ election
pundits: Lord Hennessy, one of the
most prominent writers on the
political and social history of Britain,
and the favourite broadcaster and
journalist, John Sergeant, discuss the
state of British politics, post-election,
today.
Day Ticket: £48 (not including event 11)
Peter Hennessy
11
8pm
Great Hall
£10
sponsored by
A.C. Grayling
A.C. Grayling
The Challenge of Things
Prof. A.C. Grayling’s latest book
‘The Challenge of Things’ encourages
readers to engage with the world and
to think imaginatively about troubled
times. Expect to be enlightened and
enlivened by his talk. A.C. Grayling is
Professor of Philosophy and Master
of the New College of Humanities,
London.
Saturday 4 July – Barn – Science of the Body
Joe Herbert
12
10am
Barn
£10
Joe Herbert
Testosterone, Sex and Power
15
3.15pm
Barn
£10
Lucy Fry
Triathlon for the Tri-curious
16
5pm
Barn
£10
Raymond Tallis
The Life that is Lost
Lucy Fry
Jane Haynes
and Martin Scurr
Doctor, Doctor I feel like
a pair of curtains…
As pressure mounts on NHS services
psychologist Jane Haynes and GP
Martin Scurr lift the ‘white’ mask to
explore doctor/patient relationships,
the much-changed role of the GP and
to ask what draws someone to the
profession in the first place?
13
11.45am
Barn
£10
14
1.30pm
Barn
£10
Adharanand Finn
The World of Japanese Running
From the fabled Marathon Monks
who ran a thousand marathons in a
thousand days, to the relay race ‘The
Ekiden’, Devon runner and Guardian
blogger, Adharanand Finn, discusses
Japan’s complex running culture and
tells what he learnt on the run.
Day Ticket: £40
Sex, aggression, winning, losing,
gangs, war: the effects of
testosterone are entwined with
them all. The Cambridge Emeritus
Professor of Neuroscience, Joe
Herbert explains how these
chemicals, produced in tiny amounts,
exert powerful influences on bodies,
brains and lives.
A triathlete virgin at thirty-one, Lucy
Fry thought she knew her limits, but
at thirty-two she completed not just
one but five triathlons. She takes
us on a personal journey from the
sofa, into a sports bra and across the
finishing line.
A personal meditation on death
by one of our leading thinkers and
writers. Raymond Tallis looks back
on his world from the standpoint of
his future corpse, pondering upon
the impossibility of contemplating
death, the failing mind and being
mourned.
Sunday 5 July – Barn – Mind Matters
17
11am
The Barn
£10
Guy Browning
A Guide for the Perplexed
Most of us consider ourselves the
most normal person we know.
Humourist and writer of the longrunning ‘How To’ Guardian column,
Guy Browning takes a look at how
to be ‘uniquely normally normal’.
He explores ‘How to Procrastinate’,
‘How to be Simple’, and ‘How to be
Vague’.
18
12.30pm
Barn
£10
Nigel Wellings
De-cluttering the Mind
19
2pm
Barn
£10
Suzanne O’Sullivan
It’s All in Your Head
Nigel Wellings has been teaching
and writing about the relationship
between psychotherapy and
Buddhism for many years. He offers
tips on meditation and explores
many practical ways to get our
mindfulness unstuck and establish a
regular practice.
Few of us are fully aware of how
dramatic our body’s reactions
to emotions can be. Consultant
neurologist Dr Suzanne O’Sullivan
looks at the world of psychosomatic
illness as she encourages an
exploration of the intimate
connection between mind and body.
Day Ticket: £40
Julia Ponsonby
Dylan Evans
20
3.30pm
Barn
£10
Julia Ponsonby
Mindful Baking, Mindful Feasting
21
5pm
Barn
£10
Dylan Evans
An Experiment in Living
Head of Food at Schumacher
College, Julia Ponsonby, delights in
the happiness shared food brings. She
feels we should be fully present with
the task of cooking. Creating meals
also requires discrimination when
sourcing ingredients, ensuring they
are wholesome, local and seasonal.
Without this integrity a dissonance
will creep into lives.
To discover what it would be
like in a post-apocalyptic world,
Dylan Evans founded The Utopia
Experiment where a community lived
free from modern technology and
comforts. He talks about his extreme
personal reaction to the experiment.
Sunday 5 July – Great Hall
Marina Cantacuzino
22
11am
Great Hall
£10
sponsored by
23
12.45pm
Great Hall
£10
Salley Vickers
Marina Cantacuzino
talks to Peter Stanford
Revenge and Forgiveness
How can you respond to the
unforgivable? Can you move
on without forgiveness? Marina
Cantacuzino has collected stories
from those who have much to
forgive. She tells of The Forgiveness
Project, a charity that helps victims
and perpetrators of violence, tragedy
or injustice, and explores ideas
around forgiveness, reconciliation
and conflict resolution.
Salley Vickers
Fiction – Short and Long
Salley Vickers talks about her
new collection of short stories.
Former lecturer in literature and
psychoanalyst, author of the bestselling ‘Miss Garnet’s Angel’ and six
other acclaimed novels, including
her latest ‘The Cleaner of Chartres’,
Salley Vickers’ thoughtful talks always
leave the audience asking questions
about literature and life.
Day Ticket: £40 (not including event 27)
Juliet Barker
24
2.30pm
Great Hall
£10
Juliet Barker
The Peasants’ Revolt
Why did a diverse group of ordinary
men and women unite in armed
rebellion against Church and State
to demand a radical political agenda?
The dramatic and shocking events
of the Peasants’ Revolt provide the
backdrop to Juliet Barker’s latest
fascinating book. The acclaimed
historian and distinguished
biographer of the Brontës and
Wordsworth will talk of this violent
incident in medieval England with her
usual authority and style.
Sunday 5 July – Great Hall
Will Hutton
Matthew Dennison
25
4.15pm
Great Hall
£10
Will Hutton
Creating a Productive Economy
26
6pm
Great Hall
£10
Matthew Dennison
The Extraordinary Life of
Vita Sackville-West Britain is beset by a crisis of purpose.
We don’t have an innovative,
productive economy but instead a
capitalism that extracts value rather
than creates it. There is massive
inequality, shrinking opportunity and
a society organised to benefit the top
1%. Compelling and sharp insights
from the bestselling author of
‘The State We’re In’.
Aristocrat, literary celebrity,
Sissinghurst’s ‘Rose Queen’,
devoted wife, lesbian, recluse,
iconoclast: Vita Sackville-West was
many things, but she was never
straightforward. Matthew Dennison
reveals a renegade, brave and
charismatic woman who was often
misunderstood.
Day Ticket: £40 (not including event 27)
Simon Barron and Ros Brady
27
8pm
Great Hall
£10
Ros Brady
and Simon Barron
Soil Songs . . . and More
Top lyricists and superb musical
duo Barron Brady return to the
Great Hall. Acclaimed for their fresh
acoustic style, articulate, sensitive
songs and stylish performance
tonight they launch a book of lyrics
illustrated by Simon. His illustrations
will form a backdrop to tonight’s
entertainment.
Monday 6 July – Great Hall
Judith Wolfe
28
10am
Great Hall
£10
29
11.45am
Great Hall
£10
Brian Cathcart
Judith Wolfe
C.S. Lewis and the Inklings
Dr Judith Wolfe is a lecturer in
Theology and the Arts at St Andrews
University. Her latest book on C.S.
Lewis is entitled ‘C.S. Lewis and
His Circle: Essays & Memoirs from
the Oxford C.S. Lewis Society’. She
and her fellow editors spent five
years sorting the material to make a
selection for this revealing book. She
adds her analysis of this enigmatic
figure today.
Brian Cathcart
Waterloo
It took three days for the
momentous news of Wellington’s
victory to travel from the bloodsoaked battlefield of Waterloo to the
decorous dining rooms of Regency
London. Brian Cathcart, Professor
of Journalism at Kingston University,
gives a gripping, entertaining account
of this race.
Day Ticket: £40 (not including event 33)
Jane Hawking
30
1.30pm
Great Hall
£10
(or £15 to
include
event 38
at 4.30pm
today)
Marc Morris
Jane Hawking
Marriage to Stephen Hawking
Jane Hawking relates the inside story
of her marriage to Stephen Hawking,
the eminent physicist with motorneurone disease. She confronts the
painful dilemmas of a relationship
blighted by the pervasive effects of
fame and wealth.
sponsored by
31
3.15pm
Great Hall
£10
Marc Morris
The Road to Magna Carta
Dr Marc Morris, presenter of the
series ‘Castle’ for Channel 4, tells
the dramatic story of King John – the
greedy, cowardly and cruel villain,
familiar from the tales of Robin Hood
– whose leading subjects famously
forced him to issue Magna Carta,
a document binding him and his
successors to lead better lives.
Monday 6 July – Great Hall
Waterstones proudly supports
The Telegraph
Ways With Words Festival
We look forward to
seeing you there.
Horatio Clare
32
5pm
Great Hall
£10
33
8pm
Great Hall
£12
John Hegley
Horatio Clare
On the Ocean
The acclaimed nature writer Horatio
Clare tells of ‘the men who maintain
the world’, the ships they sail and
the seas they cross. Part-travelogue,
part-oral history, his view is sharpeyed and huge-hearted. He gives a
moving tribute to those who live
and
LM2504L2249306.indd
work on the great waters, far from
land.
John Hegley
New and Selected Potatoes
The UK's leading
1
09/04/2015
Book
Recommendation
website
The UK’s favourite performance
poet, comedian and musician returns
to Dartington, mandolin in hand,
with a collection of pieces new and
older, sung, spoken and awoken with
dance. He meditates upon family,
celery and happier Daleks.
Light and lyrical. Deep and daft.
Come and sing.
‘Scandalously talented’ Sunday Times
‘Awesomely mundane’ Independent
lovereading.co.uk/facebook-twitter-connections
Day Ticket: £40 (not including event 33)
16:08
Monday 6 July – Barn – Miscellaneous: Day of Everything
Mat Prowse and Mitch Tonks
34
10am
Barn
£10
35
11.45am
Barn
£10
Chris Windle
Male Behaviour
Why do male friends express
affection by casual acts of violence?
Why do men pee high up a wall?
Journalist Chris Windle attempts to
answer these questions and provide
reassurance for any man seeking to
understand his own actions, or any
woman puzzled by male behaviour.
Simon Williams,
Susan Taylor, Kirsty Peake
and Jade Moon
In the Tracks of the Wild Wolf
The UK’s wolf ambassador, Kirsty
Peake, shares stories about her work
with the Yellowstone National Park
wolf packs. She is joined by Jade
Moon from Bone Song, performing
an extract from her version of Red
Riding Hood and Susan Taylor and
Simon Williams with their poems on
wolf lore.
Day Ticket: £37
36
1.30pm
Barn
£10
Mitch Tonks
and Mat Prowse
A Small Restaurant by the Sea
37
3pm
Barn
£10
James Ward
A Romp Through Your Pencil Case
38
4.30pm
Barn
£7
(or £15
to include
event 30
at 1.30pm
today)
Film – The Theory of
Everything (12A)
The Seahorse restaurant in
Dartmouth champions some of the
best local fish and shellfish. The menu
tours Europe’s great fish dishes.
Cooking over a charcoal fire is a
speciality. Mitch Tonks and co-owner
Mat Prowse share their passion to
enthuse, cook and inspire others to
enjoy seafood.
What does ‘shatter-proof resistant’
mean? What are the uses of Blu-Tack?
James Ward celebrates the role of
the humble biro and answers many
stationery related questions. Comedy
for those who like quirky facts and
curious stories.
This is the extraordinary story of one
of the world’s greatest living minds,
the renowned astrophysicist Stephen
Hawking, who falls deeply in love with
fellow Cambridge student Jane Wilde.
Stars Oscar-winning best actor, Eddie
Redmayne, and Felicity Jones.
Tuesday 7 July – Barn – Legacy
39
10am
Barn
£10
Sonia Purnell
Clementine Churchill –
War and Peace
40
11.45am
Barn
£10
Daisy Hay
The Angel in the PM’s House
41
1.30pm
Barn
£10
Rob Magnuson Smith
The Spirit of Eric Gill
Clementine Churchill was Winston’s
emotional rock and trusted
confidante whose influence over
her husband and the Government
would now appear scandalous. Sonia
Purnell, investigative journalist and
author of Boris Johnson’s biography,
sheds new light on this emotionally
interdependent partnership.
The devotion between the wild Mary
Anne Disraeli and Prime Minister
Benjamin Disraeli is evident in their
passionate letters to one another.
Daisy Hay discusses the social and
political rise of the Disraelis and the
stubborn refusal of Mrs Disraeli to
conform.
Eric Gill’s unconventional behaviour
and enduring influence permeates
Rob Magnuson Smith’s novel set
in the Sussex village of Ditchling,
where nothing is quite as it appears.
Magnuson Smith, explains how he
came to write this subtle comedy.
Day Ticket: £40
Sonia Purnell
Rob Magnuson Smith
42
3.15pm
Barn
£10
Hugh Aldersey-Williams
Thomas Browne in the
21st Century
43
5pm
Barn
£10
Andrew Wilson
Dark Genius
Sir Thomas Browne, a 17th
century physician was fascinated by
everything from nature to religion,
to new medical practices and to the
‘vulgar errors’ of his patients. His
wit, curiosity and remarkable prose
inspired writers such as Sebald,
Woolf and Borges. Hugh AlderseyWilliams reveals what we’ve kept and
what we’ve lost of this extraordinary
thinker.
Alexander McQueen first shocked
the world with his visionary fashion
design and then, aged 40, by
committing suicide. Andrew Wilson
examines the life of of the bad-boy
designer who rose from the tough
East End of London to the hedonistic
world of fashion design.
Tuesday 7 July – Great Hall
Wiltshire Landscape - Eric Ravilious
44
10am
Great Hall
£10
James Russell
A Remarkable Talent:
Eric Ravilious
James Russell is the author of a new
book on the watercolours of Eric
Ravilious, the distinguished British
artist. This is published alongside an
exhibition at the Dulwich Picture
Gallery which James Russell has
curated.
James Russell
Deborah Moggach
45
11.45am
Great Hall
£10
Deborah Moggach
Inspiration for Fiction:
The Weight of Betrayal
46
1.30pm
Great Hall
£10
William Waldegrave
Entering Politics
What is the inspiration for Deborah
Moggach’s latest novel ‘Something to
Hide’ a warm, witty and wise novel
about the unexpected twists that
later life can bring? Has her success
with ‘The Best Exotic Marigold
Hotel’ and ‘Tulip Fever’ influenced
her subsequent writing?
‘Why did you go into politics in the
first place?’ This is a question that
the former Conservative Cabinet
Minister has found himself asked,
and indeed asked himself, over the
years. Lord Waldegrave talks of his
upbringing and gives some answers.
sponsored by
Day Ticket: £40 (not including event 49)
Tuesday 7 July – Great Hall
William Waldegrave
47
3.15pm
Great Hall
£10
48
5pm
Great Hall
£10
Julie Summers
Polly Toynbee
and David Walker
Radical Rule
In their latest book Polly Toynbee
and David Walker warned against
dismissing Cameron as bland. He
has been more radical than Margaret
Thatcher, they suggest. She privatised
industries; he planned to dismantle
the whole of the welfare state.
Come to argue or agree with these
Guardian journalists.
Julie Summers
Wartime Fashions
Julie Summers is the bestselling
author of ‘Jambusters’, about the
Women’s Institute in the Second
World War. Now she turns to the
fashions of World War II and gives
a talk full of humorous facts and
fascinating photos.
Day Ticket: £40 (not including event 49)
Polly Toynbee and David Walker
49
7.30pm
Great Hall
£10
Judy Finnigan
with Richard Madeley
– In Conversation
Inspiration for Fiction:
Mother Love and Loss
Away from the television screens
Judy Finnigan has found the time to
write her second novel ‘I Do Not
Sleep’ the story of Molly Gabriel who
lost her 20-year-old son, Joey, in a
terrible sailing accident.
She discusses with her husband,
Richard, how her fiction happens.
Judy Finnigan and Richard Madeley
Wednesday 8 July – Great Hall
Jonathan Fenby
50
10am
Great Hall
£10
Julie Summers
Keep the Home Fires Burning
51
11.45am
Great Hall
£10
Jonathan Fenby
Understanding France
The Women’s Institute pulled
rural Britain through the Second
World War with pots of jam, a
spirit of ‘make do and mend’ and
loads of vigour. Julie Summers, in
‘Jambusters’, reveals their nitty-gritty
approach to the conflict, a story that
inspired the major ITV drama series
‘Home Fires’.
Jonathan Fenby, former editor of
the Observer and the South China
Morning Post, tells of France’s
history including its struggle to
become the leader of the European
union. France has undergone huge
social changes and he asks what
this nation, which considers itself
exceptional, really stands for.
sponsored by
Day Ticket: £40 (not including event 55)
Dom Joly
52
1.30pm
Great Hall
£10
Dom Joly
Clowning About
Dom Joly shot to fame in 2000
with his anarchic Channel 4
hidden-camera comedy programme
‘Trigger Happy TV’. The day it aired
everything changed and suddenly Joly
was famous; reality was weirder than
any fiction he could conjure up. With
frankness and self awareness he tells
of his adventures in show business.
Wednesday 8 July – Great Hall
Anne O’Brien
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
53
3.15pm
Great Hall
£10
Anne O’Brien
Dartington Hall in Medieval Times
54
5pm
Great Hall
£10
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
England: Historical and
Contemporary Position
Anne O’Brien is a bestselling,
historical novelist whose passion is
giving voice to the lost women of
history. Today she tells the story of
Elizabeth of Lancaster, daughter of
John of Gaunt and cousin to Richard
II, who married John Holand, for
whom Dartington Hall was originally
built.
One of Britain’s foremost cultural
commentators on politics, multiracial
societies, faith and human rights,
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown tells of her
love for England; a country attracted
to diversity and difference. She
reflects on what it means to be
English today.
Day Ticket: £40 (not including event 55)
Phil Hammond
55
8pm
Great Hall
£10
Phil Hammond
The NHS and You
Dr Phil Hammond, an NHS doctor,
journalist, broadcaster and comedian,
offers advice on both surviving and
shaping the UK’s national health
system. He presented five series of
‘Trust Me, I’m a Doctor’ on BBC2,
encouraging patients to be more
involved, assertive and questioning.
He appears regularly on national
radio and television speaking up for
patient power and a more honest
and transparent NHS.
Wednesday 8 July – Barn – Rural Writing: WIld Ways
Martin Hughes-Games
56
10am
Barn
£10
57
11.45am
Barn
£10
Charlie Elder
Martin Hughes-Games
Life in the Wild
Martin Hughes-Games has filmed
natural history programmes over
three decades. The BBC Springwatch
presenter shares his perilous
adventures on location, involving
huge elephant seals, man-eating
tigers, bloodthirsty bats and tiny, but
very painful, centipedes.
Philip Marsden
The Shape of the Land
When writer Philip Marsden moved
to a remote farmhouse in Cornwall,
the intensity of his response to
the landscape prompted a journey
westward through the Neolithic
ritual landscape of the Moors and
mysterious china clay country, to
the granite tors and tombs of Lands
End. He asks why people have strong
reactions to certain places.
Day Ticket: £40
58
1.30pm
Barn
£10
Charlie Elder
Diversity on our Doorstep
59
3.15pm
Barn
£10
Hugh Thomson
Old Ways
60
5pm
Barn
£10
Matthew Kelly
Moorscape
Seeking out the beautiful and the
bizarre, Charlie Elder searches for
Britain’s rarest animals. He shares
tales of the hunt for unusual wildlife
in Britain’s hedgerows, fields and
waterways. No stone will be left
unturned – literally!
Take a ramble along drover-paths,
tracks and trails through 400 miles
of countryside with travel writer
and TV documentary maker,
Hugh Thomson, who has travelled
from the centre of England to its
outermost edge taking excursions
into neglected areas of English
history.
Much debate surrounds modern
Dartmoor as South West Water
seeks to sell parcels of ‘redundant’
land. Devon-born Matthew Kelly
discusses the past, present and future
of the moor. Did druids officiate
there? Can bogs be drained and
crops grown? Is it the place for a
prison?
Today’s events are supported by
The Ronald Duncan Literary Foundation
which exists to encourage and support
creative excellence in the arts, especially
poetry, drama and literature and to
sustain interest and research in the
work associated with its namesake, the
poet and playwright, Ronald Duncan.
TICKET SALES
Name
Address
• ONLINE
www.wayswithwords.co.uk (from 20 May)
• BY PHONE
Tel: 01803 867373
Telephone lines are open from 10am - 5pm,
Monday - Friday.
Please have your event numbers
and your payment card ready before phoning.
We accept Visa and Mastercard.
• BY POST
Please complete this form and send with payment
and stamped s.a.e. to:
Ways With Words Festival Box Office,
Droridge Farm, Dartington,
Totnes, Devon TQ9 6JG
Make cheques payable to ‘Ways With Words’.
Please date and sign the cheque but leave the
rest blank.
On the crossed section (where it says A/C Payee)
write: “not to exceed: (the amount of your order
in words)”.
This is in case some of your order is not available,
in which case we shall complete your cheque for
the lesser amount.
• IN PERSON
During the festival the box office, on-site at
Dartington Hall, will open 30mins. before the first
event of the day and will close after the start of the
last event of the day.
Please note: Before the festival starts the box
office operates off-site and is open for telephone,
postal and online sales only.
Postcode
Tel.
E-mail
BOOKING FOR FRIENDS
STARTS WEDNESDAY 13 MAY
- max. 2 tickets per event.
- for phone and postal bookings only.
GENERAL BOOKING STARTS
WEDNESDAY 20 MAY
CONCESSIONS:
People aged 24 or under and people on any benefit
related to the forthcoming Universal Credit can buy
tickets normally priced at £10 or less for just £5 if
purchased in person during the festival.
We operate a ‘carers go free’ policy for people in
receipt of Carer’s Allowance.
Proof of entitlement for the above will be required.
DATA PROTECTION:
Ways With Words will not pass on your details
to any other organisation.
TERMS & CONDITIONS:
The right is reserved to substitute speakers and vary
the advertised programme if necessary.
All information is correct at the time of going to
press.
Please refer to our website
(wayswithwords.co.uk) for full details of
our policy on cancellations, ticket refunds
and exchanges, and on lost tickets.
event
£
no.
total
event
eg
A.N. Author
10
3
30
MONDAY 6 JULY
1
Oswald & Keegan (Ted Hughes)
FRIDAY 3 JULY
£
28
Judith Wolfe
10
10
29
Brian Cathcart
10
30
Jane Hawking
10
event 30 & 38 - Talk & Film
15
2
Paul Heiney
10
3
Terry Waite
10
4
Simon Armitage
10
31
Marc Morris
10
GH Day Ticket (1 - 3)
24
32
Horatio Clare
10
SATURDAY 4 JULY
33
John Hegley
12
GH Day Ticket (28 - 32)
40
34
Chris Windle
10
35
Williams, Taylor, Peake & Moon
10
10
36
Tonks & Prowse
10
10
5
Margaret Heffernan
10
6
Karen Armstrong
10
7
Stanley Wells
10
8
Mary Portas
9
Peter Stanford
10
37
James Ward
10
Hennessy & Sergeant
10
38
Film - The Theory of Everything
7
11
A.C. Grayling
10
Barn Day Ticket (34 - 38)
37
GH Day Ticket (5 - 10)
48
12
Haynes & Scurr
10
39
TUESDAY 7 JULY
Sonia Purnell
10
13
Adharanand Finn
10
40
Daisy Hay
10
14
Joe Herbert
10
41
Rob Magnuson Smith
10
15
Lucy Fry
10
42
Hugh Aldersey-Williams
10
16
Raymond Tallis
10
43
Andrew Wilson
10
Barn Day Ticket (12 - 16)
40
Barn Day Ticket (39 - 43)
40
SUNDAY 5 JULY
44
James Russell
10
17
Guy Browning
10
45
Deborah Moggach
10
18
Nigel Wellings
10
46
William Waldegrave
10
19
Suzanne O’Sullivan
10
47
Toynbee & Walker
10
20
Julia Ponsonby
10
48
Julie Summers (1)
10
21
Dylan Evans
10
49
Finnigan & Madelely
10
Barn Day Ticket (17 - 21)
40
GH Day Ticket (44 - 48)
40
WEDNESDAY 8 JULY
22
Marina Cantacuzino
10
23
Salley Vickers
10
50
Julie Summers (2)
10
24
Juliet Barker
10
51
Jonathan Fenby
10
10
25
Will Hutton
10
52
Dom Joly
26
Matthew Dennison
10
53
Anne O’Brien
10
27
Barron & Brady
10
54
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
10
GH Day Ticket (22 - 26)
40
55
Phil Hammond
10
GH Day Ticket (50 - 54)
40
56
Martin Hughes-Games
10
57
Philip Marsden
10
58
Charlie Elder
10
59
Hugh Thomson
10
60
Matthew Kelly
10
Barn Day Ticket (56 - 60)
40
no.
total
event
£
no.
total
event
THURSDAY 9 JULY
£
61
Dominick Tyler
10
96
Priya Parmar
10
62
Danny Dorling (1)
10
97
Jenny Balfour-Paul
10
10
63
Vanessa Tait
10
98
Katherine Norbury
64
Kurt Jackson
10
99
Georgia de Chamberet
10
65
Danny Dorling (2)
10
100
Holden & Clarke
10
66
Katie & Giancarlo Caldesi
10
Barn Day Ticket (96 - 100)
40
67
George Monbiot
10
101
Caroline Lucas
10
GH Day Ticket (61 - 66)
48
102
Martin Bell
10
Alistair Carr
10
103
Alice Roberts
10
10
68
69
William Atkins
10
104
Giles Radice
70
Christine Toomey
10
105
Ben Okri
10
71
James Attlee
10
GH Day Ticket (101 - 104)
32
72
no.
total
SUNDAY 12 JULY
Mark Huband (1)
10
Barn Day Ticket (68 - 72)
40
FRIDAY 10 JULY
. . . but also
106
Kim Devereux
6
107
Tom Cox
6
6
73
D.K. Wilson
10
108
Arts Live
74
Thomas Grant
10
109
Virginia Baily
6
75
Mackintosh & Haynes
10
110
Mark Diacano
6
76
John Carlin
10
111
Mark Huband (2)
6
77
Laura Thompson
10
112
Clive Fairweather
10
Barn Day Ticket (73 - 77)
40
113
Starting Out and Returning
6
78
Ann Widdecombe
10
114
New to Oversteps
6
79
Graham McCann
10
115
Birds, Beasts and Botany
6
80
Michael Smith
10
116
The Great Escape
6
81
Jan Robinson
10
Oversteps Day Ticket (113 - 116)
20
82
Lively, Arditti & Sheers
10
117
Andy Christian
6
83
Joyce Grenfell at Work
10
FE1
Christopher North
20
GH Day Ticket (78 - 82)
40
SATURDAY 11 JULY
84
Rachel Billington
10
85
Penelope Lively (RLF Talk)
10
86
Steve Hilton
10
87
Alan Johnson
10
88
Linda Blair
10
89
Michael Buerk
10
GH Day Ticket (84 - 88)
40
90
Ziauddin Sardar
10
91
Gerard Russell
10
92
Ben Stewart
10
93
Peter Pomerantsev
10
94
Jules Pretty
10
95
Caroline Craido-Perez
10
Barn Day Ticket (90 - 95)
48
TICKET TOTAL
£
Add Annual Friends’ Membership (£15)*
TOTAL
£
* Friends receive, by post, a printed copy of each
programme for Ways With Words in Dartington,
Cumbria and Southwold.
Rover Tickets and Accommodation Packages
ROVER TICKETS
ACCOMMODATION PACKAGES
Rover tickets give admission to the numbered events
in the programme over a particular period. They
can be bought separately or as part of an inclusive
accommodation package.
Ways With Words offers 10-night accommodation
packages (ranging from £888 - £1596 pp) and two
5-night packages (from £509 - £854 pp) in Higher
Close or in the Courtyard at Dartington Hall. We
also offer two 3-night weekend packages (from £330
pp) and a 4-night midweek package (from £464 pp) in
Higher Close.
‘Festival Extras’, marked ‘FE’ must be purchased
separately.
A Rover ticket guarantees a seat for every event in
the Great Hall.
We hold a set number of seats for Rover ticket
holders in the Barn and other, smaller venues.
These are on a first come, first served basis.
To purchase Rover tickets please write the number
you require in the box and then make payment as
indicated on the front of the booking form.
10-day Rover ticket (Price: £350)
• admission to all numbered events
5-day Rover ticket (Price: £240)
• 1st 5-day Rovers begin with event 1
on Friday 3 July and end at 12.45pm
on Wednesday 8 July.
• 2nd 5-day Rovers begin with the
1.30pm event on Wednesday 8 July
until the end of Sunday 12 July.
• Midweek 5-day Rovers run from
Monday 6 July to Friday 10 July.
Weekend Rover tickets (Price: £155)
• 1st weekend Rovers begin with
event 1 on Friday 3 July and end with
the last event on Sunday 5 July.
• 2nd weekend Rovers begin on
Friday 10 July at 1.30pm until the end
of Sunday 12 July.
Accommodation varies from comfortable, en suite
bedrooms right in the heart of the festival site to
single, student bedrooms (which share bathroom
facilities) about 2 mins. walk from the main site.
Along with your room and breakfast, packages
include dinner, or lunch and dinner.
All packages include a Rover ticket in the price.
If you are interested in an accommodation package
please phone 01803 867373 and we can advise on
availability and give more details.
BED & BREAKFAST
Bed & Breakfast accommodation is available in
Higher Close (single rooms sharing bathroom
facilities) at £32 pp/pn.
There is a 2-night and 2 tickets per night’s stay
minimum purchase.
TO MAKE A RESERVATION for an
accommodation / Rover package or
for B&B please phone 01803 867373.
Payment in full is required at the time
of booking. Cancellations cannot be
refunded. Customers are strongly
advised to take out holiday insurance.
BAILLIE GIFFORD LITERARY FESTIVAL SPONSORSHIP
AT BAILLIE GIFFORD
WE BELIEVE IN THE
VALUE OF GREAT
LITERATURE AND
IN LONG-LASTING
SUCCESS STORIES.
Imagination, inspiration and
a commitment to the future.
Baillie Gifford is delighted to continue to sponsor some of the most renowned literary festivals
throughout the UK. We believe that, much like a classic piece of literature, a great investment
philosophy will stand the test of time.
Baillie Gifford is one of the UK’s largest independent investment trust managers. In our daily
work in investments we do our very best to emulate the imagination, insight and intelligence
that successful writers bring to the creative process.
In our own way we’re publishers too. Our free, award-winning Trust magazine provides you with
an engaging and insightful overview of the investment world, along with details of our literary festival
activity throughout the UK.
To find out more or to take out a free subscription for
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or visit us at www.bgtrustonline.com
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Thursday 9 July – Great Hall
Dominick Tyler
61
10am
Great Hall
£10
62
11.45am
Great Hall
£10
Vanessa Tait
Dominick Tyler
Landscape Language
Zawn, clitter, shiver, cowbelly:
these are just a few of the words
that Dominick Tyler gathers into
his visual glossary of the British
countryside. Dominick Tyler is a
documentary photographer who has
worked for the Guardian, Le Monde
and Medecins Sans Frontier. He
worked on Kate Rew’s book, ‘Wild
Swimming’. This is an event for those
who love words and landscape.
Danny Dorling
Economic Inequality and
Geographical Optimism
Inequality is increasing in the UK,
driving more people toward the
poverty line and affecting social
mobility, life expectancy, educational
and work prospects. Danny Dorling,
a British social geographer and
Oxford Professor of Geography,
gives his entertaining and provocative
views.
Day Ticket: £48 (not including event 67)
Kurt Jackson
63
1.30pm
Great Hall
£10
Vanessa Tait
Inspiration for Fiction:
Wonderland and
Great Grandmother
64
3.15pm
Great Hall
£10
Kurt Jackson
The Role of Sketching
Vanessa Tait, the great-granddaughter
of Alice in Wonderland, grew up with
all of Alice’s memorabilia. Through
her novel ‘The Looking Glass House’
she sheds new light on one of the
greatest children’s books ever
written.
Kurt Jackson is one of Britain’s leading
artists. The pages of his sketchbooks
reveal how often hastily executed
images can help him to work out
what he wants to achieve on canvas;
they are key to understanding his
inspirations as an artist.
Thursday 9 July – Great Hall
Giancarlo and Katie Caldesi
65
5pm
Great Hall
£10
Danny Dorling
The Housing Problem
66
6.30pm
Great Hall
£10
Katie Caldesi
and Giancarlo Caldesi
Venice – A True Taste
House prices in London and the
South East continue to rise at
very high rates along with rents.
Meanwhile the existing housing stock
is being used less efficiently, with
more flats and rooms in houses than
ever before being left empty. Come
to discuss the problem and hear
Danny Dorling’s views.
Owners of La Cucina Caldesi
restaurant and cookery school, Katie
and Giancarlo Caldesi transport
us to Venice where they have
unearthed recipes including hot
polpette (salty pork rissoles) and
sweet fritelle (fried custard-filled
dumplings) that have been served on
the streets for centuries.
Day Ticket: £48 (not including event 67)
Danny Dorling
67
8 – 10pm
Great Hall
£10
George Monbiot
George Monbiot
The Politics of Hope
Journalist and environmentalist,
George Monbiot, suggests a new,
positive environmentalism in which
nature finds its own way of repairing
our damaged ecosystems.
He presents his ideas and his
philosophy of hope and wonder.
(inc. 30 min interval)
Thursday 9 July – Barn – Journeys
68
10am
Barn
£10
Alistair Carr
Desert Travel
69
11.45am
Barn
£10
William Atkins
The Moor – South to North
70
1.30pm
Barn
£10
Telling tales of rebellion, lost
civilizations and explorers, Alistair
Carr takes us on a dangerous
journey across the remote and
inhospitable Sahel Desert in North
Africa. Colin Thubron said of his
book, ‘It makes you want to go.’
As he strides among bell heather,
peat porridge and asphodel, over
moorlands from Cornwall, across
Dartmoor via the Pennines to the
Borders, William Atkins is guided
by the books he reads and the
people he meets: farmers, monks,
ornithologists, gamekeepers,
prisoners, soldiers and walkers.
Mark Huband
71
3.15pm
Barn
£10
James Attlee
Writer on a Train
72
5pm
Barn
£10
Mark Huband
Travels Around the World:
Poetry from America
Christine Toomey
Buddha’s Daughters
Foreign correspondent, Christine
Toomey, follows the Saffron Road,
tracing the spread of Buddhism in
women from the remote Himalayas
to the New Mexican desert. She
examines the spiritual paths of ‘kung
fu’ nuns, a princess, a former BBC
journalist and a concert violinist.
Day Ticket: £40
Alistair Carr
When James Attlee became First
Great Western’s Writer on the
Train he was given the freedom to
explore the line as he wished. He
urges us to reconnect with the very
act of travelling by train, to wonder
where we are and remind ourselves
that the blurred vistas we pass at
speed are human stories.
As an author and award-winning
journalist (the Financial Times,
Observer and Guardian) Mark
Huband has spent the past 25 years
travelling the world, from Africa and
the Middle East to South-East Asia
and the Americas. ‘American Road’ is
his debut collection of poetry.
Friday 10 July – Barn – Crime and Punishment
John Carlin
Laura Thompson
73
10am
Barn
£10
D.K. Wilson
The Murder of Hans Holbein
74
11.45am
Barn
£10
Thomas Grant
Courtroom Drama
Historian and novelist D.K. Wilson
discusses an unsolved Tudor crime:
the murder of Hans Holbein, King
Henry VIII’s portrait painter, in
1543. The mystery of what actually
happened remains just that.
As a practising barrister, Jeremy
Hutchinson QC defended the
notorious and the infamous, with
clients such as Christine Keeler,
Great Train Robber Charlie Wilson
and Howard Marks. His biographer,
Thomas Grant, scrutinises some of
Hutchinson’s most remarkable trials,
providing an insight into Britain’s
post-war social, political and cultural
history.
Day Ticket: £40
75
1.30pm
Barn
£10
Clare Mackintosh
and Elizabeth Haynes
Crime Fighters to
Crime Writers
76
3.15pm
Barn
£10
John Carlin
The Fall of the Blade Runner
77
5pm
Barn
£10
Laura Thompson
The Story of Lord Lucan
Clare Mackintosh spent twelve
years in the police force, including
time in the CID, and now writes
crime fiction full-time. She is inconversation with Elizabeth Haynes,
a police intelligence analyst and debut
novelist. They discuss their transition
from crime fighters to crime writers.
On Valentine’s Day 2013 South
African Olympian and Paralympian
Oscar Pistorius shot his girlfriend,
Reeva Steenkamp, four times through
a bathroom door. He was found
guilty of culpable homicide. Journalist
and author John Carlin explores
Pistorius’ journey from sporting icon
to convicted killer.
In November 1974 a nanny named
Sandra Rivett was bludgeoned to
death in a Belgravia townhouse. The
following morning, her employer,
the Earl of Lucan, disappeared. He
hasn’t been found since. Acclaimed
biographer Laura Thompson
forensically examines the possible
truths behind one of post-war
Britain’s most mysterious murders.
Friday 10 July – Great Hall
Ann Widdecombe
Day Ticket: £40 (not including event 83)
Michael Smith
78
10am
Great Hall
£10
Ann Widdecombe
Inspiration for Fiction:
Dancing and Dartmoor
79
11.45am
Great Hall
£10
Graham McCann
Yes Minister –
the Background Story
Ann Widdecombe was at the centre
of Conservative politics for over 20
years. The nation’s attention was
focussed on her in BBC1’s 2010
‘Strictly Come Dancing’. Now she
has written her first detective novel
‘The Dancing Detective’ which is set
against the backdrop of a prime-time
TV celebrity dance show and the
wilds of Dartmoor.
‘Yes Minister’ continues to be
watched and referenced regularly.
Entertainment historian Graham
McCann goes in search of the real
political fiascos that inspired it. He
reveals how this subversive satire
became one of the most cherished
sitcoms of Thatcher’s Britain.
Friday 10 July – Great Hall
Jan Robinson
Owen Sheers
80
1.30pm
Great Hall
£10
Michael Smith
The Women of Bletchley Park
81
3.15pm
Great Hall
£10
Jan Robinson
Beyond Widowhood
82
5pm
Great Hall
£10
A key member of the board of
trustees at Bletchley Park, Michael
Smith recalls the women who played
key roles in deciphering codes of the
Enigma machines and tells how they
came to be there, doing ‘their bit’ for
the war effort.
The form grief takes is unpredictable.
There are no set rules. When Jan
Robinson’s husband died suddenly
and unexpectedly she asked other
widows for tips on how to deal with
widowhood. She shares what she
learnt.
Penelope Lively, Michael
Arditti and Owen Sheers
Inspiration for Fiction
These three eminent writers discuss
what inspires them, how ideas
come to them and how these are
transposed into their books.
Day Ticket: £40 (not including event 83)
Michael Arditti
Penelope Lively
83
Joyce Grenfell at Work
8 - 9.30pm
‘Joyce Grenfell at Work’ is a oneGreat Hall
woman play about Britain’s much£10
loved woman entertainer, written by
her biographer Janie Hampton who has
drawn on personal memories, letters
and family anecdotes to illuminate
Joyce’s working method, relationships
and eccentricities. Performed by
Cheryl Knight, well-known for her
portrayal of Joyce Grenfell in the
show, ‘Turn Back the Clock’.
Directed by Paul Knight. Introduced
by Janie Hampton who will also takes
questions at the end of the show.
Janie Hampton
Cheryl Knight as Joyce Grenfell
Saturday 11 July – Great Hall
85
11.45am
Great Hall
£10
Rachel Billington
84
10am
Great Hall
£10
Penelope Lively
Rachel Billington
Inspiration for Fiction:
The First World War and Family
Rachel Billington’s latest novel,
‘Glory’, was inspired by a collection
of family letters, her grandmother’s
diary and her grandfather, Thomas,
Earl of Longford, who was killed at
Gallipoli. She tells about the young
soldiers and the women in England
caught up in the fighting.
Day Ticket: £40 (not including event 89)
The Royal Literary Fund Talk
Penelope Lively
How I Became a Writer
Dame Penelope Lively, past winner
of the Booker Prize and Carnegie
Award is the author of adults’
and children’s books, fiction and
nonfiction. She talks about what
made her a writer, the greatest
influences on her work and the range
of her writing career.
The Royal Literary Fund was set up in
1790 to help professional authors. Past
beneficiaries have included Coleridge,
Joseph Conrad, DH Lawrence and Dylan
Thomas. Last year it helped 200 writers,
though not all of them are quite so
famous yet. www.rlf.org.uk
Saturday 11 July – Great Hall
Steve Hilton
Alan Johnson
86
1.30pm
Great Hall
£10
Steve Hilton
Human Scale
87
3.15pm
Great Hall
£10
Alan Johnson
The Sequel
Steve Hilton, former senior adviser
to Prime Minister David Cameron,
offers the latest research across
industry, politics, education, design
and philanthropy, to show what can
happen when we make the world
more human which he suggests will
make for more productivity, more
fulfillment and greater happiness.
By the age of 18 Alan Johnson was
married, a father, and working
as a postman in Slough. ‘Please,
Mr. Postman’, the sequel to his
bestselling memoir ‘This Boy’ paints
a vivid picture of Britain in the 1970s
and reveals another fascinating
chapter in the life of a much-loved
public figures.
Day Ticket: £40 (not including event 89)
Linda Blair
Michael Buerk
88
5pm
Great Hall
£10
Linda Blair
How to Streamline Your Life
89
8pm
Great Hall
£10
Michael Buerk
Inside the Human Zoo: What’s
Real about Reality Television?
After her great appeal at last year’s
festival, talking about her book on
Mindfulness, Linda Blair, Associate
Fellow of the British Psychological
Society, returns to talk about
simplifying life and cultivating calm.
Her ideas are designed to promote
balance, purpose and tranquility.
We can’t promise that this will be
answered today, but at least Michael
Buerk (of BBC Radio 4’s The Moral
Maze and recently featured in ‘I’m
a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here’)
is bringing his superb mind to the
question of the unreality of reality
television.
Saturday 11 July – Barn – Global Issues
Ziauddin Sardar
Caroline Criado-Perez
90
10am
Barn
£10
Ziauddin Sardar
The Heart of Islam
91
11.30am
Barn
£10
Gerard Russell
Disappearing Religions
of the Middle East
Mecca is the direction towards
which Muslims turn at prayer; the
birthplace of Muhammad; and the
sacred city that draws millions of
pilgrims to it each year. Ziauddin
Sardar unravels its significance.
Former diplomat, Gerard Russell,
lived alongside the Mandaeans and
Yazidis of Iraq, the Zoroastrians
of Iran, the Copts of Egypt all of
whom have survived for centuries
under Muslim rule. These religions
represent the last vestiges of ancient
civilizations, yet, with the Middle East
in turmoil, they face an uncertain
future.
Day Ticket: £48
92
1pm
Barn
£10
Ben Stewart
Arctic 30
93
2.30pm
Barn
£10
Peter Pomerantsev
Adventures in Modern Russia
94
4pm
Barn
£10
Jules Pretty
Vanishing Lands
95
5.30pm
Barn
£10
Caroline Criado-Perez
Speaks Like a Woman
Activist and journalist Ben Stewart’s
book ‘Don’t Trust, Don’t Fear, Don’t
Beg’ began with notes scribbled on
napkins in a St Petersburg café. He was
collecting stories from the recently
released Arctic 30 – a group of
Greenpeace activists who in 2013 scaled
a Russian Arctic oil platform. He tells
their story.
A trip into the glittering, surreal heart of
modern Russia reveals a world erupting
with money and power. Through a
series of colourful encounters, Peter
Pomerantsev discovers that nothing
is true but everything is possible in a
country where illusion and glamour hide
a dangerous, amoral core.
Trekking with Innu people, sailing with
ice-fishermen and boating in southern
African swamps, Jules Pretty discovers
life in cultures close to extinction and
considers the wonders we are losing.
What does it mean to be female in
cultures where power, privilege or
basic freedoms are mostly equated with
being male? The woman who took on
the Bank of England, Twitter and the
criminal justice system, speaks of her
encounters with pioneering women
from Antarctica to Afghanistan.
Sunday 12 July – Barn – Life Writing
96
10.45am
Barn
£10
Priya Parmar
Vanessa, Virginia and the
Bloomsbury Group
97
12.30pm
Barn
£10
Jenny Balfour-Paul
Missing Pieces
98
2pm
Barn
£10
Priya Parmar explores the life of
post-impressionist painter Vanessa
Bell and charts her tumultuous
relationship as the overshadowed
sister of the writer Virginia Woolf.
The sisters’ journey is one of
intrigue, love and betrayal.
The word ‘indigo’ drew Jenny
Balfour-Paul to the illustrated
journals of forgotten Victorian
traveller, Thomas Machell. She
relates her adventures tracking
Machell (whose life has striking
parallels with her own) to India’s
indigo and coffee plantations,
Polynesian Islands, the China Seas
and deserts of Arabia.
Priya Parmar
99
3.30pm
Barn
£10
Georgia de Chamberet
Lesley Blanch –
A Bohemian Abroad
100
5pm
Barn
£10
Wendy Holden
and Eva Clarke
Miracle Babies of the Holocaust
Katherine Norbury
Sea to Source – A Journey
Upstream to Self-Discovery
After a heart-breaking miscarriage
and cancer treatment, Katherine
Norbury undertook a journey to
follow a river upstream to its source.
Family, adoption, grief and the lifeaffirming nature of journeying are all
explored as she also maps her own
life to her source.
Day Ticket: £40
Wendy Holden and Eva Clarke
Lesley Blanch lived to 103. Having
loved and lost her husband to
another woman, she travelled
across Siberia, Iran and the
Sahara to ‘escape the boredom of
convention’ of the 20th century. Her
goddaughter Georgia de Chamberet
talks about Blanch’s exploits and
bohemian life.
Journalist and biographer Wendy
Holden tells the remarkable story of
three ‘miracle babies’ secretly born
in the German slave labour camp,
Mauthausen during World War II.
United by their experiences, they
now consider each other ‘siblings
of the heart.’ Wendy Holden will
be joined by Eva Clarke, one of the
‘miracle babies’.
Sunday 12 July – Great Hall
Caroline Lucas
Alice Roberts
101
11am
Great Hall
£10
Caroline Lucas
Parliament and MPs
102
12.45pm
Great Hall
£10
Martin Bell
National Service
Part diary, part reflection, part
passionate call-to-arms, this is
a unique talk by an exceptional
politician and activist. Caroline Lucas
was the MP for Brighton and leader
of the Green Party from 2008 - 2012.
She has several times been voted
‘Ethical Politician of the Year’ and in
2014 was voted ‘MP of the Year’.
Following the discovery of a pile of
old letters in his attic, Martin Bell has
written a book about National Service
and his time in the Suffolk Regiment
in Cyprus from 1957 to 1959. Martin
Bell, OBE, is a British UNICEF
Ambassador, a former broadcast war
reporter and independent politician.
Day Ticket: £32 (not including event 105)
103
2.30pm
Great Hall
£10
Martin Bell
Alice Roberts
The Creation of Humans
Alice Roberts, television presenter,
author and Professor of Public
Engagement with Science at the
University of Birmingham has
presented ‘Coast’, ‘Horizon’ and
several series about human evolution
on BBC2. She describes a remarkable
journey, revealing the path from a
single cell to a complex embryo to a
living, breathing, thinking person.
Sunday 12 July – Great Hall
Giles Radice
Ben Okri
104
4.15pm
Great Hall
£10
Giles Radice
Political Pairings
105
7.30pm
Great Hall
£10
Ben Okri
A Magical Life
There are many interesting pairs
of political leaders from Churchill
and Attlee to Cameron and Clegg.
Sometimes these result in intense
rivalry, while others illustrate the
profound political impact of a
successful working relationship. Lord
Radice was Labour MP for Durham
North and Chairman of the Treasury
Committee until he was appointed a
Life Peer.
When Ben Okri talks to audiences
they find the experience profound
and transforming. His words lead to
unexpected, poetic and metaphysical
revelations. He is the author of The
Booker prize-winning novel ‘The
Famished Road’ and now has written
‘The Age of Magic’ his first novel in
seven years. Expect an enchanting
and unusual event.
Day Ticket: £32 (not including event 105)
... but also
If we didn’t have a sense of irony
we’d call these events ‘niche’.
We do and they’re not; they just take
place in other venues at unpredictable
times. So don’t dismiss them.
Take a look.
Sunday 5 July
106
10am
Kim Devereux
Writing Rembrandt
Kim Devereux
Dukes Room £6
The life and art of Rembrandt has fascinated Kim
Devereux from childhood. Her meticulously
researched novel enters the turbulent world of the
master painter and the three women who shaped
his life, seen through the eyes of his last great love,
his housemaid Hendrickje Stoffels.
107
11.30am Dukes Room
Tom Cox
Meet the 21st Century Yokel
£6
Recording his new life in Devon in his Guardian
blog, 21st Century Yokel, Tom Cox, writes about
cats, his dad and walking in the countryside. He
says he likes walking because it’s healthy, cheap,
there’s no internet and you can say hello to horses
using a fake, posh voice.
108
2.30pm
Arts Live
Journeys
Dukes Room
109
Tom Cox
4pm
Dukes Room Virginia Baily
Turning Ideas into Stories
£6
How do you turn ideas into stories and drafts
into published books? Founder and co-editor of
the short story journal Riptide and prize-winning
author, Dr Virginia Baily, talks about inspiration
and her creative process as her second novel ‘Early
One Morning’ is released.
6.30pm
Dukes Room
Trade Winds
Free (no ticket required)
Trade Winds is a long established seeding ground
for poets, singer-songwriters and storytellers, new
and experienced. Turn up at the start with a short
performance piece to get a spot in the show.
All welcome.
Tuesday 7 July
£6
Through photographs, poetry and music, Carol
Ballenger, John Powls, Susan Taylor and Simon
Williams celebrate journeys, including a voyage
on the ‘Grey Ghost’ of the North Atlantic, the
quest of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, walking
meditation and the iconic US Route 66.
110
2pm
Dukes Room Mark Diacano
Beyond the Vegetable Patch
£6
More of us are growing some of what we eat.
Mark Diacano reflects what’s going on in cities,
allotments and on window sills. He talks about
growing unusual and forgotten foods along with
the familiar.
Thursday 9 July
FE1
10am - 1pm
Friday 10 July
Dukes Room
Christopher North
Back to the Garden –
A Creative Writing Workshop
£20
“We’ve got to get ourselves back to the
Garden” advised Joni Mitchell. This morning’s
creative writing workshop will do exactly that. In
Dartington Gardens this workshop will involve
close observation, imagination, memory and selfdiscovery in writing. Part outdoors, part indoors,
good footwear, a notebook and pen are all that is
needed.
111
10am
Dukes Room
£6
Mark Huband
Economics and The Election – a Post-Mortem
Is it only politicians who care about economic
arguments? Mark Huband, founder of Livingstone
and Company – a leading business intelligence
firm, offers colour, a few laughs and some serious
economics.
112
11.30am - 1pm
Dukes Room
Clive Fairweather
A Masterclass on W.B. Yeats –
A Terrible Beauty
£10
W.B. Yeats is one of the poets whose lines and
images come soonest to mind when reflecting
upon the contradictions of life. To mark the 150th
anniversary of the poet’s birth this masterclass
investigates the resonances. Copies of the poems
to be explored will be provided on the day.
Dartington International
Summer School 2015
CONCERTS AND EVENTS
Highlights
Week 2: Monday 10 August 2015,
5.15pm - Great Hall
Week 1: Tuesday 4 August 2015,
10.00pm - Great Hall
TICKETS: £8
Alice Oswald (spoken poetry) and Griselda
Sanderson (nykelharpa)
Tithonus: Waiting for the Dawn
TICKETS: £8
James Runcie (novelist)
Poetry and Silence: An illustrated lecture
Week 2: Monday 10 August 2015,
7.45pm - Great Hall
Mhairi Lawson (soprano) and
Joanna MacGregor (piano)
Haydn, Mozart, Scots and Schumann:
Featuring the songs of Robert Burns
TICKETS: £18.50 RESERVED /£14 UNRESERVED
Saturday 11 July - Oversteps Day
A day of events by OVERSTEPS POETS arranged and introduced by Alwyn Marriage
Recent Publications
113
10am
Dukes Room
Starting Out and Returning
£6
The day starts with two poets who have published
their first collections, and a couple who have
now published two collections with Oversteps.
Robert Cole, Ann Segrave,
Mark Totterdell and Denise Bennett.
114
11.30am Dukes Room
New to Oversteps
£6
The poets in this group have published previous
collections, but are new to Oversteps.
Helen Overell, James Turner, Rose Flint,
Michael Thomas
Here, There and Everywhere
There will be plenty of variety in this afternoon’s
fast-moving readings, with different poets contributing
to the two themes. The poets who read this morning
will now be joined by
Jennie Osborne, Christopher North and
Alwyn Marriage.
115
2.30pm
Dukes Room
Birds, Beasts and Botany
Part of the work of a poet is to inspire the reader
to see the world with fresh eyes. This applies
particularly to the wonder of nature. In the first
of this afternoon’s readings these poets will
look in detail at the world, in order to deepen
appreciation of the flora and fauna that are
sometimes taken for granted.
116
4pm
Dukes Room
The Great Escape
Day Ticket: £20
£6
£6
The day finishes with exciting new poetry which
looks further afield. In these poems take to the
road, travel on holiday, experience the less familiar.
Those with itchy feet, climb aboard and hold tight
with Oversteps poets.
Sunday 12 July
117
3.15pm
Andy Christian
Boro
Dukes Room £6
19th century workers in northern Japan treasured
recycled scraps of cotton kimonos from southern
cities to make clothes and futon covers. As
products of poverty they were an embarrassment
to establishment Japan. Andy Christian unravels the
story of Boro and how pieces by ‘innocent’ makers
became so collectable.
Bursaries to Ways With Words
Each year at the Dartington Festival we give
away about 30 Bursary Passes to young people
between the ages of 17 – 25 so that they can
attend all (10 days) or some (5 days) of the
festival FREE OF CHARGE.
This is a fantastic opportunity to become
immersed in the festival, be introduced to new
ideas, new authors and make new friends.
For details and application procedure
email [email protected]
There’s Lots to do at Dartington
Explore the beautiful Dartington Gardens
with major sculptures by Henry Moore, Willi
Soukop and Peter Randall-Page.
Walk by the River Dart which flows through
the Dartington Hall estate.
Watch Films – the Barn Cinema shows films
each night of the festival.
Browse new Books – there is a large,
comfortable Waterstones bookshop upstairs in
the Upper Gatehouse, opposite the Great Hall.
Explore the Ship Studio – stalls selling second
hand and antiquarian books and quality locally
made crafts open each day from 10am - 5.30pm.
At The Shops at Dartington there
is a lot more to offer than our
unique mix of shops and cafes!
• The Haven Spa can offer a shot of pampering
• For outdoor adventures on the beautiful Dartington
Estate, or a high zip wire trip over the trees, visit
Dynamic Adventures
• Pottery lessons from Crazy about Clay
• Berserks, our fused glass workshop
• Soap making at Arran Aromatics
• Artisan glass blowing on Saturdays
Open 7 days per week with plenty of parking. Shinners Bridge, Dartington,
Totnes, Devon TQ9 6TQ. T 01803 847 500 www.dartington.org/shops
General Information –
Travelling to Dartington
•
•
•
Dartington is roughly 25 miles southwest
of Exeter and about a four hour drive from
London.
By car, take the M5, A38 and A384, then
follow yellow AA signs to the festival. From
the west, take the A38 from Plymouth, the
A385 and then follow the AA signs.
By train – Paddington is the mainline station
from London. Totnes is the station nearest
to Dartington Hall. Dartington Hall is a five
minute taxi ride from the station.
Parking
Parking charges now apply on the
Dartington Estate.
Please leave plenty of time to get to your event
as you may need to park at a distance from the
venues and there may be queues at the ticket
machines.
(NB. Residents will receive a permit on booking
which entitles the holder to free parking in the
designated car parks during your stay.)
With thanks to . . .
The Publishers
Allen Lane, Alma Books, Arcadia Books, Atlantic Books,
Aurum Press, Bloomsbury, Chatto & Windus, Cornell
University Press, Ebury, Faber & Faber, Granta, Green
Books, Guardian Books, Hardie Grant, Harper Collins,
Head of Zeus, Hodder & Stoughton, IB Tauris, Jessica
Kingsley Publishers, John Murray, Leaping Hare Press,
Little Brown, Live Canon, Lund Humphries, Medina
Publishing, Michael Joseph, Mira Books, Orion Publishing
Group, Oxford University Press, Pan Macmillan, Penguin
Books, Profile Books, Quarto Publishing Group, Quercus
Books, Random House, Saltyard Books, Simon &
Schuster, Somerset House, Transworld, Verso, Vintage,
WH Allen, Yale University Press
Ways With Words’ Patrons
Jonathan Dimbleby, Nicholas Evans,
Sir Michael Holroyd, Dame Penelope Lively,
James Long, Blake Morrison, The Rt. Hon. The Lord
Owen, The Lord O’Hagan, Peter Stanford, Salley Vickers
Good, Close and Best Friends
Colin Goldsmith, Marlene Eyre,
Moira Sykes, Brenda & John Wynn
Accessible parking is provided in the main car
park (8 spaces) and in the Barn car park. A drop
off point for the Barn is situated in front of the
archway approximately 30 metres from the Barn.
A drop off point for the Great Hall is situated at
the White Hart approx. 50 metres from the Hall.
Ways With Words Staff
Mobility Access
Thank you to the generous and energetic team of
volunteers who support the festival in a variety of ways
before, during and after the festival.
There is wheelchair access to the Great Hall, Barn
and Upper Gatehouse, but please let us know
when you buy your tickets as wheelchair
spaces are limited and must be reserved in
advance. There is no wheelchair access to the
Dukes Room. There is access to the White Hart
bar and dining rooms and to some bedrooms.
Hearing Impairment
There is a loop system in place in the Great
Hall (please ask the stewards where to sit to
take advantage of this) and an Infra Red assisted
hearing system in the Barn.
Festival Curators: Leah Varnell and Jane Fitzgerald
Box Office Manager: Philip John
Venue Managers: Ben Long, Jess Morris, Caroline Wilson
Our team of Festival Interns.
Technical Advice: Chris Edwards
Tej Walia and his team at
Dartington Accommodation and Catering Services Ltd.
Jim Whittle and staff at the Barn Cinema.
Photo credits
Shaun Armstrong, Jane Bown, César Nunez Castro,
Harley Evans, Rich Hardcastle, Mark Green, Tim HoyGriffiths, Seth Jackson, Rehan Jamil, Patrick Jennings,
Bid Jones, Gareth Iwan Jones, Josh Kearns, Michael
Lionstar, Caitlin Mogridge, Christoph Mueller, Rugby
School, Urszula Soltys, Delia Spatareanu, Abbie TraylerSmith, University of Birmingham, JJ Waller, Bill Waters,
Wolfgana Webster, David Yeo.
Diary Dates
Over the next 12 months Ways With Words
will be running events in the UK and in Italy.
Umbria, Italy
26 September – 3 October
and 3 – 10 October 2015
Keswick,
Cumbria
4 – 13 March 2016
Fingals Hotel,
Devon
May 2016
Southwold, Suffolk
5 – 9 November 2015
. . . and returning to Dartington
to celebrate 25 years
8 – 17 July 2016
wayswithwords.co.uk
01803 867373
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
Simon Armitage
Karen Armstrong
Martin Bell
Michael Buerk
Judy Finnigan
A.C. Grayling
Phil Hammond
Jane Hawking
Paul Heiney
John Hegley
Peter Hennessy
Steve Hilton
Will Hutton
Alan Johnson
Dom Joly
Caroline Lucas
Richard Madeley
George Monbiot
Deborah Moggach
Ben Okri
Alice Oswald
Mary Portas
Giles Radice
Alice Roberts
John Sergeant
Polly Toynbee
Salley Vickers
Terry Waite
William Waldegrave
Ann Widdecombe