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Ways With WordsFestival of Words and Ideas

Dartington, Devon3 – 13 July 2015

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 BristowChloë and Videl Bar-KarFestival Directors

Enjoy the Bigger Picture at Ways With Words

Title Sponsor

Festival Sponsor

Official Bookselling Partner

Event Sponsors

Support in Kind

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.

President’s Introduction

Roy HattersleyFestival President

Friday 3 July – Great Hall

Day Ticket: £24 (not including event 4)

Alice Oswald and Paul Keegan –In ConversationTed 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 HeineyThe 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’.

12.30pm

Great Hall

£10

24pm

Great Hall

£10

Terry WaiteInspiration for Fiction: Life’s Vicissitudes

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.

Simon ArmitagePoet, Walker and Troubadour

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.

35.30pm

Great Hall

£10

48pm

Great Hall

£10

The Ted Hughes Memorial Lecture

Paul KeeganAlice Oswald

Simon A

rmitage

Paul Heiney

Terry W

aite

Saturday 4 July – Great Hall


Karen Armstrong Stanley Wells

Margaret HeffernanCompetition 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 ArmstrongReligion 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’.

Stanley WellsShakespeare Performed

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 talks to Peter StanfordHow Mary Portas Became ‘Queen of Shops’

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.

Margaret Heffernan Mary Portas

510am

Great Hall

£10

611.45am

Great Hall

£10

71.30pm

Great Hall

£10

83.15pm

Great Hall

£10

sponsored by

sponsored by


Peter Stanford A.C. Grayling

Peter StanfordJudas

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 ConversationThe 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.

A.C. GraylingThe 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.

95pm

Great Hall

£10

106.30pm

Great Hall

£10

118pm

Great Hall

£10


John Sergeant Peter Hennessy

sponsored by

Saturday 4 July – Barn – Science of the Body

Day Ticket: £40

Joe Herbert

Jane Haynes and Martin ScurrDoctor, Doctor I feel like a pair of curtains…

As pressure mounts on NHS services

psychotherapist 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?

Adharanand FinnThe 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.

Joe HerbertTestosterone, Sex and Power

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.

Lucy Fry Triathlon for the Tri-curious

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.

Raymond Tallis The Life that is Lost

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.

12 10am

Barn

£10

1311.45am

Barn

£10

141.30pm

Barn

£10

153.15pm

Barn

£10

165pm

Barn

£10

Lucy Fry

Sunday 5 July – Barn – Mind Matters

Day Ticket: £40

Julia Ponsonby Dylan Evans

Guy BrowningA Guide for the Perplexed

Most of us consider ourselves the

most normal person we know.

Humourist and writer of the long-

running ‘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’.

Nigel WellingsDe-cluttering the Mind

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.

Suzanne O’SullivanIt’s All in Your Head

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.

Julia PonsonbyMindful Baking, Mindful Feasting

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.

Dylan EvansAn Experiment in Living

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.

17 11am

The Barn

£10

1812.30pm

Barn

£10

192pm

Barn

£10

203.30pm

Barn

£10

215pm

Barn

£10


Sunday 5 July – Great Hall

Marina Cantacuzino Salley Vickers

Marina Cantacuzino talks to Peter StanfordRevenge 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 VickersFiction – Short and Long

Salley Vickers talks about her

new collection of short stories.

Former lecturer in literature and

psychoanalyst, author of the best-

selling ‘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.

Juliet BarkerThe 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.

2211am

Great Hall

£10

2312.45pm

Great Hall

£10

242.30pm

Great Hall

£10

Juliet Barker

sponsored by



Will Hutton

Will HuttonCreating a Productive Economy

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’.

Matthew DennisonThe Extraordinary Life of Vita Sackville-West

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.

Ros Brady and Simon BarronSoil 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.

Simon Barron and Ros Brady

254.15pm

Great Hall

£10

266pm

Great Hall

£10

278pm

Great Hall

£10

Matthew Dennison


Monday 6 July – Great Hall

Judith Wolfe Jane Hawking Marc Morris

Judith WolfeC.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 blood-

soaked 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.

Jane HawkingMarriage to Stephen Hawking

Jane Hawking relates the inside story

of her marriage to Stephen Hawking,

the eminent physicist with motor-

neurone disease. She confronts the

painful dilemmas of a relationship

blighted by the pervasive effects of

fame and wealth.

Marc MorrisThe 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.

28 10am

Great Hall

£10

2911.45am

Great Hall

£10

301.30pm

Great Hall

£10

(or £15 to

include

event 38

at 4.30pm

today)

313.15pm

Great Hall

£10

Brian Cathcart

sponsored by


Monday 6 July – Great Hall

Horatio Clare John Hegley

Horatio ClareOn 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 sharp-

eyed and huge-hearted. He gives a

moving tribute to those who live and

work on the great waters, far from

land.

John HegleyNew and Selected Potatoes

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

325pm

Great Hall

£10

338pm

Great Hall

£12

Waterstones proudly supports

The Telegraph Ways With Words Festival

We look forward to seeing you there.

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Day Ticket: £37

Monday 6 July – Barn – Miscellaneous: Day of Everything

Mat Prowse and Mitch Tonks

Chris WindleMale 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.

Mitch Tonks and Mat ProwseA Small Restaurant by the Sea

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.

James Ward A Romp Through Your Pencil Case

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.

Film – The Theory of Everything (12A)

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.

34 10am

Barn

£10

3511.45am

Barn

£10

361.30pm

Barn

£10

373pm

Barn

£10

384.30pm

Barn

£7

(or £15

to include

event 30

at 1.30pm

today)

Day Ticket: £40

Tuesday 7 July – Barn – Legacy

Sonia PurnellClementine Churchill – War and Peace

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.

Daisy Hay The Angel in the PM’s House

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.

Rob Magnuson SmithThe Spirit of Eric Gill

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.

Hugh Aldersey-Williams Thomas Browne in the 21st Century

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 Aldersey-

Williams reveals what we’ve kept and

what we’ve lost of this extraordinary

thinker.

Andrew WilsonDark Genius

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.

3910am

Barn

£10

4011.45am

Barn

£10

411.30pm

Barn

£10

Sonia Purnell Rob Magnuson Smith

423.15pm

Barn

£10

435pm

Barn

£10


Tuesday 7 July – Great Hall

James Russell Deborah Moggach

James RussellA 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.

Deborah MoggachInspiration for Fiction: The Weight of Betrayal

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?

William WaldegraveEntering Politics

‘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.

4410am

Great Hall

£10

4511.45am

Great Hall

£10

461.30pm

Great Hall

£10

Wiltshire Landscape - Eric Ravilious

sponsored by


Tuesday 7 July – Great Hall

William Waldegrave Julie Summers Polly Toynbee and David Walker

Polly Toynbee and David WalkerRadical 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 SummersWartime 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.

Judy Finnigan with Richard Madeley – In ConversationInspiration 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.

473.15pm

Great Hall

£10

485pm

Great Hall

£10

497.30pm

Great Hall

£10

Judy Finnigan and Richard Madeley

Wednesday 8 July – Great Hall


Jonathan Fenby Dom Joly

Julie SummersKeep the Home Fires Burning

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 FenbyUnderstanding France

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.

Dom JolyClowning 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.

5010am

Great Hall

£10

5111.45am

Great Hall

£10

521.30pm

Great Hall

£10

sponsored by

Wednesday 8 July – Great Hall


Phil Hammond

Anne O’BrienDartington Hall in Medieval Times

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.

Yasmin Alibhai-BrownEngland: Historical and Contemporary Position

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.

Phil HammondThe 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.

533.15pm

Great Hall

£10

545pm

Great Hall

£10

558pm

Great Hall

£10

Anne O’Brien Yasmin Alibhai-Brown

Wednesday 8 July – Barn – Rural Writing: WIld Ways

Day Ticket: £40

Martin Hughes-Games 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 MarsdenThe 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.

Charlie Elder Diversity on our Doorstep

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!

Hugh ThomsonOld Ways

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.

Matthew Kelly Moorscape

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.

5610am

Barn

£10

5711.45am

Barn

£10

581.30pm

Barn

£10

593.15pm

Barn

£10

605pm

Barn

£10

• ONLINEwww.wayswithwords.co.uk (from 20 May)

• BY PHONETel: 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 POSTPlease 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 PERSONDuring 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.

NameAddress

PostcodeTel.E-mail

BOOKING FOR FRIENDSSTARTS WEDNESDAY 13 MAY - max. 2 tickets per event. - for phone and postal bookings only.

GENERAL BOOKING STARTSWEDNESDAY 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.

TICKET SALES

event £ no. total

eg A.N. Author 10 3 30

FRIDAY 3 JULY

1 Oswald & Keegan (Ted Hughes) 10

2 Paul Heiney 10

3 Terry Waite 10

4 Simon Armitage 10

GH Day Ticket (1 - 3) 24

SATURDAY 4 JULY

5 Margaret Heffernan 10

6 Karen Armstrong 10

7 Stanley Wells 10

8 Mary Portas 10

9 Peter Stanford 10

10 Hennessy & Sergeant 10

11 A.C. Grayling 10


12 Haynes & Scurr 10

13 Adharanand Finn 10

14 Joe Herbert 10

15 Lucy Fry 10

16 Raymond Tallis 10

Barn Day Ticket (12 - 16) 40

SUNDAY 5 JULY

17 Guy Browning 10

18 Nigel Wellings 10

19 Suzanne O’Sullivan 10

20 Julia Ponsonby 10

21 Dylan Evans 10


22 Marina Cantacuzino 10

23 Salley Vickers 10

24 Juliet Barker 10

25 Will Hutton 10

26 Matthew Dennison 10

27 Barron & Brady 10


event £ no. total

MONDAY 6 JULY

28 Judith Wolfe 10

29 Brian Cathcart 10

30 Jane Hawking 10

event 30 & 38 - Talk & Film 15

31 Marc Morris 10

32 Horatio Clare 10

33 John Hegley 12


34 Chris Windle 10

35 Williams, Taylor, Peake & Moon 10

36 Tonks & Prowse 10

37 James Ward 10

38 Film - The Theory of Everything 7


TUESDAY 7 JULY

39 Sonia Purnell 10

40 Daisy Hay 10

41 Rob Magnuson Smith 10

42 Hugh Aldersey-Williams 10

43 Andrew Wilson 10


44 James Russell 10

45 Deborah Moggach 10

46 William Waldegrave 10

47 Toynbee & Walker 10

48 Julie Summers (1) 10

49 Finnigan & Madelely 10


WEDNESDAY 8 JULY

50 Julie Summers (2) 10

51 Jonathan Fenby 10

52 Dom Joly 10

53 Anne O’Brien 10

54 Yasmin Alibhai-Brown 10

55 Phil Hammond 10


56 Martin Hughes-Games 10

57 Philip Marsden 10

58 Charlie Elder 10

59 Hugh Thomson 10

60 Matthew Kelly 10


event £ no. total

THURSDAY 9 JULY

61 Dominick Tyler 10

62 Danny Dorling (1) 10

63 Vanessa Tait 10

64 Kurt Jackson 10

65 Danny Dorling (2) 10

66 Katie & Giancarlo Caldesi 10

67 George Monbiot 10


68 Alistair Carr 10

69 William Atkins 10

70 Christine Toomey 10

71 James Attlee 10

72 Mark Huband (1) 10


FRIDAY 10 JULY

73 D.K. Wilson 10

74 Thomas Grant 10

75 Mackintosh & Haynes 10

76 John Carlin 10

77 Laura Thompson 10


78 Ann Widdecombe 10

79 Graham McCann 10

80 Michael Smith 10

81 Jan Robinson 10

82 Lively, Arditti & Sheers 10

83 Joyce Grenfell at Work 10


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


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


event £ no. total

SUNDAY 12 JULY

96 Priya Parmar 10

97 Jenny Balfour-Paul 10

98 Katherine Norbury 10

99 Georgia de Chamberet 10

100 Holden & Clarke 10


101 Caroline Lucas 10

102 Martin Bell 10

103 Alice Roberts 10

104 Giles Radice 10

105 Ben Okri 10

GH Day Ticket (101 - 104) 32

. . . but also106 Kim Devereux 6

107 Tom Cox 6

108 Arts Live 6

109 Virginia Baily 6

110 Mark Diacano 6

111 Mark Huband (2) 6

112 Clive Fairweather 10

113 Starting Out and Returning 6

114 New to Oversteps 6

115 Birds, Beasts and Botany 6

116 The Great Escape 6

Oversteps Day Ticket (113 - 116) 20

117 Andy Christian 6

FE1 Christopher North 20

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 TICKETSRover 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.

‘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.

ACCOMMODATION PACKAGESWays 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.

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 & BREAKFASTBed & 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.

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.

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

Your call may be recorded for training or monitoring purposes. Baillie Gifford Savings Management Limited (BGSM) produces Trust magazine and is an affiliate of Baillie Gifford & Co Limited, which is the manager and secretary of seven investment trusts. Your personal data is held and used by BGSM in accordance with data protection legislation. We may use your information to send you details about Baillie Gifford products, funds or special offers and to contact you for business research purposes. We will only disclose your information to other companies within the Baillie Gifford group and to agents appointed by us for these purposes. You can withdraw your consent to receiving further marketing communications from us and to being contacted for business research purposes at any time. You also have the right to review and amend your data at any time.

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 Trust magazine, please call us on 0800 280 2820 or visit us at www.bgtrustonline.comBaillie Gifford – long-term investment partners

AT BAILLIE GIFFORD WE BELIEVE IN THE VALUE OF GREAT LITERATURE AND IN LONG-LASTING SUCCESS STORIES.

Thursday 9 July – Great Hall


Vanessa Tait Kurt Jackson

Dominick TylerLandscape 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 DorlingEconomic 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.

Vanessa TaitInspiration for Fiction: Wonderland and Great Grandmother

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 JacksonThe Role of Sketching

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.

6110am

Great Hall

£10

6211.45am

Great Hall

£10

631.30pm

Great Hall

£10

643.15pm

Great Hall

£10

Dominick Tyler


Thursday 9 July – Great Hall

Danny DorlingGiancarlo and Katie Caldesi George Monbiot

Danny DorlingThe Housing Problem

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.

Katie Caldesi and Giancarlo CaldesiVenice – A True Taste

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.

George MonbiotThe 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)

655pm

Great Hall

£10

666.30pm

Great Hall

£10

678 – 10pm

Great Hall

£10

Thursday 9 July – Barn – Journeys

Day Ticket: £40

Mark Huband Alistair Carr

Alistair CarrDesert Travel

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.’

William Atkins The Moor – South to North

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.

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.

James Attlee Writer on a Train

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.

Mark Huband Travels Around the World: Poetry from America

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.

6810am

Barn

£10

6911.45am

Barn

£10

701.30pm

Barn

£10

713.15pm

Barn

£10

725pm

Barn

£10

Friday 10 July – Barn – Crime and Punishment

Day Ticket: £40

D.K. WilsonThe Murder of Hans Holbein

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.

Thomas Grant Courtroom Drama

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.

Clare Mackintosh and Elizabeth HaynesCrime Fighters to Crime Writers

Clare Mackintosh spent twelve

years in the police force, including

time in the CID, and now writes

crime fiction full-time. She is in-

conversation with Elizabeth Haynes,

a police intelligence analyst and

novelist. They discuss their transition

from crime fighters to crime writers.

John CarlinThe Fall of the Blade Runner

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.

Laura ThompsonThe Story of Lord Lucan

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.

7310am

Barn

£10

7411.45am

Barn

£10

751.30pm

Barn

£10

763.15pm

Barn

£10

775pm

Barn

£10

John Carlin Laura Thompson



Michael SmithAnn Widdecombe

Ann WiddecombeInspiration for Fiction: Dancing and Dartmoor

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.

Graham McCannYes Minister – the Background Story

‘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.

7810am

Great Hall

£10

7911.45am

Great Hall

£10



Michael Arditti

Michael SmithThe Women of Bletchley Park

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.

Jan RobinsonBeyond Widowhood

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 SheersInspiration for Fiction

These three eminent writers discuss

what inspires them, how ideas

come to them and how these are

transposed into their books.

Joyce Grenfell at Work‘Joyce Grenfell at Work’ is a one-

woman play about Britain’s much-

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.

801.30pm

Great Hall

£10

813.15pm

Great Hall

£10

825pm

Great Hall

£10

838 - 9.30pm

Great Hall

£10

Owen SheersJan Robinson Penelope Lively

Janie Hampton Cheryl Knight as Joyce Grenfell



Rachel BillingtonInspiration 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.

The Royal Literary Fund TalkPenelope LivelyHow 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

8410am

Great Hall

£10

8511.45am

Great Hall

£10

Rachel Billington Penelope Lively



Steve HiltonHuman Scale

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.

Alan JohnsonThe Sequel

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.

Linda BlairHow to Streamline Your Life

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.

Michael BuerkInside the Human Zoo: What’s Real about Reality Television?

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.

86

1.30pm

Great Hall

£10

873.15pm

Great Hall

£10

885pm

Great Hall

£10

898pm

Great Hall

£10

Steve Hilton Linda Blair Michael BuerkAlan Johnson

Saturday 11 July – Barn – Global Issues

Day Ticket: £48

Ziauddin SardarThe Heart of Islam

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.

Gerard RussellDisappearing Religions of the Middle East

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.

Ben StewartArctic 30

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.

Peter PomerantsevAdventures in Modern Russia

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.

Jules Pretty Vanishing Lands

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.

Caroline Criado-PerezSpeaks Like a Woman

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.

90 10am

Barn

£10

9111.30am

Barn

£10

921pm

Barn

£10

932.30pm

Barn

£10

944pm

Barn

£10

955.30pm

Barn

£10

Ziauddin Sardar Caroline Criado-Perez

Sunday 12 July – Barn – Life Writing

Day Ticket: £40

Priya ParmarVanessa, Virginia and the Bloomsbury Group

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.

Jenny Balfour-PaulMissing Pieces

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.

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 life-

affirming nature of journeying are all

explored as she also maps her own

life to her source.

Georgia de ChamberetLesley Blanch – A Bohemian Abroad

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.

Wendy Holden and Eva ClarkeMiracle Babies of the Holocaust

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’.

9610.45am

Barn

£10

9712.30pm

Barn

£10

982pm

Barn

£10

Priya Parmar Wendy Holden and Eva Clarke

993.30pm

Barn

£10

1005pm

Barn

£10



Caroline LucasParliament and MPs

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’.

Martin BellNational Service

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.

Alice RobertsThe 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.

10111am

Great Hall

£10

10212.45pm

Great Hall

£10

1032.30pm

Great Hall

£10

Caroline Lucas

Martin Bell

Alice Roberts



Giles RadicePolitical Pairings

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.

Ben OkriA Magical Life

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.

Giles Radice Ben Okri

1044.15pm

Great Hall

£10

1057.30pm

Great Hall

£10

... but alsoIf 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

Tuesday 7 July

106 10am Dukes Room £6 Kim DevereuxWriting Rembrandt

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 £6Tom CoxMeet the 21st Century Yokel

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 Dukes Room £6Arts LiveJourneys

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.

109 4pm Dukes Room £6Virginia Baily Turning Ideas into Stories

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 Free (no ticket required)Trade Winds

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.

110 2pm Dukes Room £6Mark DiacanoBeyond the Vegetable Patch

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.

Kim Devereux Tom Cox

FE1 10am - 1pm Dukes Room £20Christopher NorthBack to the Garden – A Creative Writing Workshop

“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 self-

discovery in writing. Part outdoors, part indoors,

good footwear, a notebook and pen are all that is

needed.

Dartington International Summer School 2015CONCERTS AND EVENTSHighlights

Week 2: Monday 10 August 2015, 5.15pm - Great HallJames Runcie (novelist)Poetry and Silence: An illustrated lecture

TICKETS: £8

Week 2: Monday 10 August 2015, 7.45pm - Great HallMhairi Lawson (soprano) and Joanna MacGregor (piano)Haydn, Mozart, Scots and Schumann: Featuring the songs of Robert Burns

TICKETS: £18.50 RESERVED /£14 UNRESERVED

Week 1: Tuesday 4 August 2015, 10.00pm - Great Hall Alice Oswald (spoken poetry) and Griselda Sanderson (nykelharpa)Tithonus: Waiting for the Dawn

TICKETS: £8

111 10am Dukes Room £6Mark HubandEconomics 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 £10

Clive Fairweather A Masterclass on W.B. Yeats – A Terrible Beauty

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.

Thursday 9 July Friday 10 July

Day Ticket: £20

113 10am Dukes Room £6 Starting Out and Returning

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 £6 New to Oversteps

The poets in this group have published previous

collections, but are new to Oversteps.

Helen Overell, James Turner, Rose Flint, Michael Thomas

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 £6 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 £6 The Great Escape

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.

117 3.15pm Dukes Room £6Andy ChristianBoro

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.

A day of events by OVERSTEPS POETS -

arranged and introduced by Alwyn Marriage Recent Publications

Here, There and Everywhere

Sunday 12 July

Saturday 11 July - Oversteps Day

Bursaries to Ways With Words

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.

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]

• 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

At The Shops at Dartington there is a lot more to offer than our unique mix of shops and cafes!

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.

ParkingParking 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.)

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.

Mobility AccessThere 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 ImpairmentThere 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.

With thanks to . . .

The PublishersAllen 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’ PatronsJonathan 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 FriendsColin Goldsmith, Marlene Eyre, Moira Sykes, Brenda & John Wynn

Ways With Words StaffFestival Curators: Leah Varnell and Jane FitzgeraldBox Office Manager: Philip JohnVenue Managers: Ben Long, Jess Morris, Caroline Wilson

Our team of Festival Interns.

Technical Advice: Chris Edwards

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.

Tej Walia and his team atDartington Accommodation and Catering Services Ltd.

Jim Whittle and staff at the Barn Cinema.

Photo creditsShaun Armstrong, Jane Bown, César Nunez Castro, Harley Evans, Rich Hardcastle, Mark Green, Tim Hoy-Griffiths, 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 Trayler-Smith, 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.

. . . and returning to Dartington

to celebrate 25 years

8 – 17 July 2016

Umbria, Italy26 September – 3 October

and 3 – 10 October 2015

Southwold, Suffolk5 – 9 November 2015

Keswick, Cumbria4 – 13 March 2016

Fingals Hotel, DevonMay 2016

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Yasmin Alibhai-BrownSimon ArmitageKaren ArmstrongMartin BellMichael BuerkJudy FinniganA.C. GraylingPhil HammondJane HawkingPaul HeineyJohn HegleyPeter HennessySteve HiltonWill HuttonAlan JohnsonDom JolyCaroline LucasRichard MadeleyGeorge MonbiotDeborah MoggachBen OkriAlice OswaldMary PortasGiles RadiceAlice RobertsJohn SergeantPolly ToynbeeSalley VickersTerry WaiteWilliam WaldegraveAnn Widdecombe

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