The 48th Wordsworth Summer Conference

Monday 5 August to Thursday 15 August at Rydal Hall, Cumbria

The Keynote Lecturers in 2019

Oliver Clarkson (Balliol)  Deirdre Coleman (University of Melbourne)

Richard Cronin (Glasgow University)  Rachel Falconer (University of Lausanne) 

Katie Garner  (University of St Andrews)  John Gardner (Anglia Ruskin University)

Anthony Harding  (University of Saskatchewan)

Ichiro Koguchi (University of Osaka)  Erica McAlpine (Oxford University)

Tom Owens(University College London)  Sarah Zimmerman  (Fordham University, New York)

   Key Features

• The conference is in two parts, of five nights each, with a changeover day
• 7 fell-walks, 6 excursions, Local Walks
• 10 keynote lectures and over 40 papers
• Either 4 or 9 full days in Rydal 
• Excursions to places of Wordsworthian connections or general cultural interest
• Up to seventy miles of fell walking

The 2019 Wordsworth Summer Conference at elegant Rydal Hall will be the 48th since Richard Wordsworth’s inaugural conference gathering in 1970. This year we continue the format pioneered by Richard, mingling lectures, papers and lively academic debate with energetic fell walking, picturesque rambles, and excursions to places of Wordsworthian and Romantic interest. There will be an opportunity to explore the treasures of the Wordsworth Trust’s collections with the curator Jeff Cowton, and an evening visit to Wordsworth's Rydal Mount and garden with a glass of wine. In 2019 our In 2019 our excursions are likely to include an all-day visit to Hexham Abbey, Corbridge Roman Town and Chesters Castle on Hadrian’s Wall. High points for energetic fell walkers are likely to include ascents of Nab Scar and Great Rigg, and further afield Pillar, Steeple and Blencathra. 

Format and Costs

The conference is in two parts of 4 full days each, with a changeover day on Saturday 10 August. Because the conference has a unique culture of conversation and participation, those wishing to present a paper must register for at least one full part, and many register for the whole event. The resident registration fee, which includes all excursions, offers exceptional value at £290 for ten nights (£210 for five nights). Full Board at the Rydal Hall Diocesan Conference Centre is available at prices ranging from £880 to £1160 (for ten nights), and at Rydal Hall Youth Centre for £550 or £600. Details of these prices and non-resident rates are set out on the Tariff page.

Proposals

We invite proposals for twenty-minute papers on all aspects of William Wordsworth, his contemporaries and the Romantic period. 250-word proposals for papers of no more than 2750 words, together with a brief autobiographical paragraph, unformatted, should occupy no more than 2 sides of A4.  Please do include your name, institution and e-mail address on the abstract. Please do not send it as a PDF, as proposals will be copied into a composite file. Proposals should be e-mailed by 25 April 2019 to: proposal.wsc@gmail.com

Bursaries

Click on the "Bursaries" button for details of Bursaries to be awarded in 2019

Conference Director: Nicholas Roe nhr@st-andrews.ac.uk
Conference Administrator: Irm Hollenbach wordsworthsummerconference@gmail.com

Please ensure that you have read our Terms and Conditions

Links

In addition to the extensive archives and galleries on this site, please explore:

The Summer Conference Blog: wordsworthsummerconference.wordpress.com