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Dartington goes green for Ways With Words

12th June 2019

Categories: Visitor News

The estate that’s famous for its gardens, as well as its historically progressive outlook, is looking a little more verdant thanks to the Ways With Words literary festival this summer.

The best-selling author and appropriately-named Isabella Tree may have sold out her talk Rewilding Knepp in under 48 hours, but there are still opportunities to secure seats for talks by a host of writers, reporters, historians and photographers who have elected the natural world and its stewardship as their subject – among them the climate-conscious Guardian heavyweight, Mike Berners-Lee, who asks What Can We do to Combat Climate Change?

Eco-consciousness is at an all-time high, thanks to the Greta effect and the awareness-raising efforts of the Extinction Rebellion movement. Anyone who has had the chance to leaf through this year’s Ways With Words programme will have noted a line-up that represents a journey from the macro to the micro, taking in intimate studies of nature from Heather Buttivant’s Wonders of Rock Pools and Naoko Abe’s talk Cherry, to Mary Colwell’s The Cry of Curlew.

The fact that these talks are taking place, among those that focus on Flora and Fauna (Kurt Jackson) and Unappreciated Heroes of the Natural World (Dave Goulson), might by definition offer an answer to the question, Is Youth Climate Activism Working? - but Geetie Singh-Watson asks it, in discussion with Anna Turns. One thing is for certain: there will be animated discussion.

‘It’s definitely a greener programme than in previous years,’ says Ways With Words Director, Leah Varnell, whose programming is encouraging swift ticket take up. ‘And that’s in part thanks to the brilliant works writers are producing in response to the urgent reality we are facing. Readers and audiences want to get to the roots of what’s going on and to take action. People of all ages and backgrounds are engaged and interested in the unfolding narratives, so it’s certainly going to be a festival unlike any other and Dartington is the perfect place to host such discussion.’

Those looking to take a step back from alarming headlines can seek solace in the talk by correspondent and photographer, Lalage Snow, in which she discusses how she sought moments of peace in war zones. Her talk, In Search of Calm, promises to be a big draw for lovers of gardens and for gardeners, as well as for those seeking an uplifting story in troubled times.

Elsewhere, Clare Rewcastle Brown’s Information is Light describes the impact one journalistic investigation into ecocide had bringing down the Malaysian government. But for more local - yet no less intriguing - terrain, audiences can book to listen to historian and photographer Jacqueline Sarsby’s Dartmoor Voices, a historical narrative of agricultural life.

The full programme can be viewed online at www.wayswithwords.co.uk and tickets booked through the website or by phoning 01803 867373.