As part of the Heritage Lottery Funded Landscape Partnership Project, Artsreach ran two new and unusual reading groups in Dorset in 2015/16...
Aimed
at exploring the wide range of literature inspired by and written about
the South Dorset Ridgeway area, readers were invited to delve into
an exciting list of authors spanning three centuries, ranging from the
familiar - William Barnes and Thomas Hardy, to the modern writings of
Ian McEwan and Christoper Nicholson. The groups dipped into the Powys family
with writing by John Cowper, Llewelyn and Philippa, and visits works by Sylvia Townsend Warner, whilst also
enjoying the beauty of Kenneth Allsop's observations and the gripping
fiction of John Meade Faulkner. Lesser-known works by authors such as
David Garnett, Emma Tennant and Christopher Priest were also devoured
and discussed.
In the second year of the project, readers moved on to examine other works by Thomas Hardy, whilst also exploring the science fiction of Christopher Priest and works by Emma Tennant and Ian McEwan. Readers also read and discussed one of the most recent pieces of fiction with strong links to the Ridgeway, Christopher Nicholson's 'Winter'.
A series of guest speakers helped to
deliver an insight into some of the more challenging writers and seveal walks
within the South Dorset Ridgeway area took place, allowing readers to explore the landscape and
settings of some of the writing. Readers discussed common themes, looked at the relationship between
people and the landscape, examined trends and movements in literature and
discussed why it is that some authors remain in print, whilst others do
not. Readers also examined how writers have used poetry, prose and
fiction (both novels and short stories) in their response to the
landscape, and gained a greater understanding of the South Dorset
Ridgeway's inspirational qualities.
This blog will allow anyone who is interested to access notes from each session and leave their own comments and thoughts online.
