How does William and Dorothy Wordsworth’s writing continue to do good in the twenty-first century? On 12 October 2022 Susan Allen and Tish Thornton from the Wordsworth Trust, alongside artist Alison Critchlow, explored some of the inspiring and creative projects that they have worked on with groups around Cumbria, from carers to theatre groups to fell farmers to people in prison.
Susan and Alison discussed the ways Dove Cottage, the gardens, museum and collections have shaped their experimental sessions, explored the process and shared some of the highly original work created by participants. Some groups explored Cumbria’s difficult sometimes deadly weather, engaging with the Wordsworths’ writing and sharing their own striking work in the community gallery; prisoners at HMP Haverigg created poetic paintings like film stills in response to ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ and West Cumbria Carers produced the exhibition ‘What can we do with poetry and paint?’ Meanwhile Kirkgate Youth Theatre, with Tish, worked on bringing Wordsworth’s poem ‘Goody Blake and Harry Gill’ into the modern age, inspiring debate about living today.
As well as sharing paintings, poetry and performances from these projects, our speakers showcased some of the artwork, books and manuscripts from the Wordsworth Trust’s collection which inspired their work. They also discussed the value of William and Dorothy’s writing in the present day.
About the speakers
Alison Critchlow is a British painter based in Cumbria, working from her studio beside the Solway Firth. She has just completed a research and development project funded by Arts Council England, focusing on the work of Hedda Sterne. Alison trained at Falmouth School of Art, Cornwall, and has exhibited widely in Britain. Since 2017 Alison has worked closely with the Wordsworth Trust on various projects. Time spent painting in Dove Cottage garden and from the collection in Grasmere has had a profound effect on her work and underpins her ongoing fascination with creative practice and the relationship between writing and painting.
Susan Allen works on the community outreach programme for Wordsworth Grasmere, offering shared reading sessions around the country, giving talks, and supporting group visits to Dove Cottage as well as delivering creative workshops. Susan graduated from the University of Leeds, teaching American & English Literature there before moving into community-based work across Yorkshire & Humberside and ultimately returning to Cumbria. Working with creative practitioners, including Alison, has had a huge influence on her approaches to engagement practice and her own writing.
Tish Thornton is part of the Curatorial and Learning Team at Wordsworth Grasmere, her focus is Education, offering and developing a variety of activities for schools and families both on and off site. She is also a trained actor and teacher. She has worked extensively in theatre including several tours of Canada, many of these being shows she wrote or co-wrote. She taught Drama and English at schools in Greater Manchester and Merseyside for over 15 years and has been running Kirkgate Youth Theatre in Cockermouth, Cumbria since January 2018, devising and writing many original pieces with the young people.
This event was hosted by Jeff Cowton, Principal Curator & Head of Learning at Wordsworth Grasmere.
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