The Friends of Coleridge

Samuel Taylor Coleridge 1772-1834 December 2015 Newsletter www.friendsofcoleridge.co m ‘’ Bicentenary 2016 Next year, 2016, marks the bicentenary of the publication of Kubla Khan, and The Friends plan to mark this by holding a series of events which are intended to bring the figure of Coleridge the writer before as wide an audience as possible. Coleridge himself and the Victorian reading public would have been astonished at the way in which Kubla Khan has established itself in modern times as his best known poem, or at least, his best known title. During the 19th century it was , or Love which were seen as Coleridge’s most characteristic productions. He himself, it seems, having ‘The Source of the Sacred River’ by Albert Goodwin first presented Kubla Khan to coming year and adding value to what they do there. Here are the reading public as a sort of just some of our plans: a Kubla Khan-themed art exhibition at psychological curiosity took the Cottage; a series of talks on Coleridge at the Cottage; an remarkably little interest in illustrated booklet on Kubla Khan, aimed at new and casual it, hardly changing the text as well as more experienced readers; a series of contempo- at all after it was first pub- rary poetry readings at the Cottage; ‘Walking with Coleridge’ lished, whereas he could not leaflets; and a poetry competition using Kubla Khan as a leave the text of The Rime of stimulus, aimed at local schools and colleges. We hope by the the Ancient Mariner alone, end of the year that a lot more people have begun to be aware Illustration to‘Kubla Khan’ by tinkering with it throughout of what Coleridge has to offer the modern reader. Patten Wilson 1898 his life. Of course 1816 was a very important year for Coleridge in Kubla Khan definitely took other ways. On the 15 April he took up residence with the second billing when it first appeared. The Christabel volume, Gillmans in Highgate and started the final phase of his life as it was titled, was issued in February 1816 and appeared in the as a writer and cultural force, publishing The Statesman’s shops on 25 May. For Coleridge’s first book of published verse Manual and the first of his Lay Sermons before the end of since 1803, it was a slim volume indeed, a somewhat inauspi- the year. And it was in Highgate on 31 October this year that cious looking octavo, consisting of 8 pages of introductory Richard Holmes, speaking at the combined Coleridge and matter and only 64 pages of verse. It was published by John Lamb day, reminded us of the importance of the Gillman con- Murray. Christabel takes up the first 50 pages, even though it nection in 1816. He suggested republishing some out-of-print was of course unfinished. It was followed by the two much and out-of-copyright texts as a way of marking the bicente- shorter poems: Kubla Khan, also presented as ‘a fragment’, nary of the beginning of a new era in Coleridge’s life and career. and The Pains of Sleep. All three works had been written years This is something to think about for the future. Meanwhile, we before. are confident that as one who through his 1979 biography has Why Kubla Khan has become Coleridge’s ‘signature’ poem introduced Coleridge to more new readers and students than among non-professional readers in modern times is a study anyone else, and who has been a loyal supporter of the Friends, in itself. But ours is not to reason why, but rather to seize the he would approve of our current plans for next year. opportunity in whatever ways we can. These include work- Justin Shepherd, Chair of the Friends of Coleridge ing with the National Trust at the Cottage throughout the 2 Friends of Coleridge Newsletter December 2015 Auction of Coleridge items, Christie’s New York, 8 December James Vigus writes: The Davidson collection of Coleridge texts is outstanding in both quality and range. Coleridge was not only a poet but also a playwright, translator, and prolific writer on literary, philosophical, religious and political topics. All these fields are richly represented here. This collection of 35 lots boasts fresh manuscript material, including a late letter to Charles Lamb with an unpublished postscript. Coleridge delighted in writing notes in friends’ copies of his own books: a wonderful example here is Sophia Raby Gillman’s long-lost copy of Coleridge’s Aids to Reflection (right), an item of great importance to scholarship. He directs Sophia to a couple of pages in which ‘will be found my Creed as a Christian digested in Seven Articles.’ Other lots feature Coleridge’s handwritten revisions to his own poems; and there are copies of books owned by Coleridge, one delicious highlight being the edition of Rabelais that Coleridge annotated in preparation for his lecture on wit and humour in 1818. There is an opportunity to acquire a rare first Aids to Reflection edition of Coleridge’s early and politically radical newspaper, The Watchman. Also from the mid-1790s is a very scarce uncut copy of The Plot Discovered; or An Address to the People, Against Ministerial Treason, the format of which reveals much about the fast-changing political scene when Pitt’s ‘gagging acts’ curbed free speech. By 1809, when Coleridge embarked on The Friend, another pre- carious self-published periodical, he had ceased to believe in the efficacy of address- ing ‘the people’, preferring instead a more foundational approach to the principles of morality and legislation. The complete set of The Friend is an especially desirable lot. Perhaps the most remarkable item of all is Coleridge’s extensively annotated copy of his 1817 collection Sibylline Leaves (left) containing, in addition to much else, Coleridge’s handwritten revisions to his poetic masterpiece, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Sibylline Leaves To view the full catalogue visit: www.friendsofcoleridge.com/auction-of-coleridge-items-christies-new-york-december-8th

New music: Howard Skempton, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Howard Skempton: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner 4th December, CBSO Centre, Birmingham 5th December, Wigmore Hall, London The world and London premiere performances of British composer Howard Skempton’s setting of Coleridge’s masterpiece The Rime of the Ancient Mariner will be held at the CBSO, Birmingham and the Wigmore Hall in early December, with the internationally acclaimed baritone Roderick Williams as soloist. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, for baritone and small ensemble, Howard Skempton will be Howard Skempton’s longest work to date. He comments: ‘Thanks to , the task of setting The Rime of the Ancient Mariner has made unusual demands. The narrative thrust of the poem suggested a pace of delivery beyond the comfort zone of a well-established technique. Composing is always an adventure, and I have occasionally imagined myself alongside the Mariner – in the same boat! Writing the piece has been sometimes a “breeze”, and sometimes not!’ 3 Friends of Coleridge Newsletter December 2015 The Friends of Coleridge Book Collection Over the years the Friends have built up a substan- tial collection of books by and about Coleridge and the Romantic Movement. Some were purchased and others donated. They were stored originally in , but after its restoration they were moved to Dunster Castle. For some time the Friends have been negotiating with the National Trust to have a bookcase installed at the Cottage containing a number of the core volumes. These would illustrate the range of Coleridge’s achievement as both poet and writer. Agreement has now been reached for a book- case in the Exhibition Room. It will be a bespoke, The collection contains some notable volumes, lockable bookcase, made by a local joiner to including: harmonise with the existing decorative style. It is ✦ , 1st edition 1798 hoped it will be in position ready for the reopening ✦ Poems by Samuel Taylor Coleridge to which of the Cottage in March. are now added Poems by Charles Lamb and The Book Collection has been listed and recorded, Charles Lloyd, 1797 and Tom Mayberry is in the process of choosing up ✦ S T Coleridge: Poems on Various Subjects, to two hundred volumes to be included. The book- Cottle 1796 case will incorporate an open shelf on which one or ✦ The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Douglas two outstanding books can be displayed open. Cleverdon, Bristol 1929. Limited edition 177/460. Copper engravings by David Jones

There are also volumes signed and/or inscribed by Ernest , Edith Coleridge, Lucy E Watson, and Alex W Gillman. A home will eventually need to be found for the remainder of the Collection, which includes many modern critical works and many of the Bollingen edition volumes. Library Service has shown an interest for a Coleridge Study Centre at Library, where the books can go on display. However, the Friends are open to ideas and suggestions.

The Coleridge Way Companion Guide Ian Pearson’s Coleridge Way route guide and path companion takes the reader along the full 51 miles of the path. It is a travelogue, route guide, and gazetteer, and packed with stories and anecdotes about Coleridge himself, the people who live (and lived) along the path, and the places the poet would have visited. Ian Pearson has been involved with the Coleridge Way project since its inception, and walked the route prior to its official opening in 2005. He is keen to continue his involve- ment with the path and planned to be the first person to walk the newly extended route on 1st June 2014 – thwarted by a broken arm while researching the guide. To buy a copy of Ian Pearson’s guide to the Coleridge Way (£10 plus £2.50 p&p) visit www.coleridgewaywalk.co.uk/coleridge-way-guide 4 Friends of Coleridge Newsletter December 2014

At lunch, delegates were given the freedom to roam Highgate A collaborative event and find food where they wished. At the café to which I found my way, Terry Jones – of Monty Python fame – appeared, but I in Coleridge’s Highgate didn’t get the chance to ask him along for the afternoon session. Gregory Leadbetter on the Coleridge and Lamb (I had seen Ray Davies of The Kinks the day before – perhaps in London symposium, 31 October 2015 life is always like that in Highgate…) After lunch, delegates were treated to a wonderful keynote The biennial Coleridge Summer Conference has long been lecture by our special guest, Richard Holmes. In his lucid, noted for its good luck with the weather – and a bit of that must have rubbed off on this special event, which came together on a glorious autumn day in London. Around sixty delegates gathered in the splendid Victoria Hall at Highgate Literary and Scientific Institution – within hailing distance of Coleridge’s two Highgate homes – for a symposium designed specifically to address the London works and lives of Coleridge and his old friend, Charles Lamb. Their companionship was celebrated not just in the subject matter of the symposium, but also in the fact that this was an essentially collaborative occasion, organised by the Friends of Coleridge and the Charles Lamb Society working together. Felicity James, Richard Holmes and Gregory Leadbetter Our first guest speaker, Peter Newbon, presented a paper on ‘Lamb, Coleridge and the Witch of Endor’, which inviting and inimitable way, he conjured up not only the revealed Lamb and Coleridge to be at odds with the rise from Coleridge of Highgate – who would shuffle to the door under the 1790s of an approach to reading and education that defined the gaslight in Townsend Yard to collect a little unsupervised itself as both rationalist and Christian. In defiance of John laudanum – but also the Coleridge that existed in the imagi- Locke’s view that children should not be exposed to tales of nation and ideas of seven other great minds: Shelley, Blake, spirits, ghosts or goblins, Lamb not only defended the effects Thomas Love Peacock, John Stuart Mill, Michael Faraday, of ‘unsupervised reading’ (as the rationalists framed it) but also and Henry James, whose story ‘The Coxon Fund’ was lovingly showed that the Bible itself was a ‘source of the dark sublime’. explored in all its Coleridgean dimensions. It was a superb There were times, no doubt, that those who lent books to conclusion to proceedings at Victoria Hall, received with what Coleridge wished that they could have been there to super- felt like unending applause. vise his reading – but as Heather Stone showed in her paper, Edward Preston then led a guided walk around the literary ‘Coleridge and Lamb: Reading Round the Margins’, Lamb hotspots of Highgate as the Hallowe’en twilight came on. Just relished the liberties Coleridge would take with his hith- off the village square, carved pumpkins began to appear – some erto uninscribed pages. Taking in particular Daniel’s lined a staircase to a doorway left ajar. You couldn’t help but Civil Wars, Heather described the intimate and generous wonder what Coleridge would have made of it all on his own dynamics not only of their mutual exchange through books, crepuscular stroll. but the way in which both Lamb and Coleridge read. Warm thanks are due to all of our speakers, and to our In his paper ‘Coleridge and Lamb – Head and Heart’, delegates, for making the occasion what it was: to Edward Graham Davidson used a late note by Coleridge on Lamb to Preston, for leading the walk; to Nick and Cecilia Powell for explore the differing but complementary inner lives of the two so kindly and efficiently looking after tea, coffee and biscuits friends. Despite Lamb’s refusal to conceive of himself as entirely during the day; and to my co-organiser, Felicity James, for Christian, Coleridge saw in Charles an essentially and authenti- all her help behind the scenes, and for chairing our first two cally religious nature in the ‘adhesion of the inmost will’ – which papers. The symposium was jointly funded by the Charles Lamb Coleridge could all too readily contrast with his own sense of Society and the Friends of Coleridge, which meant that we could lack of what would (or should) make him a Christian (despite hold it at no cost to delegates; thank you to the committees and his more intellectualised identification with the religion). The the membership of both societies. We might even do this again, Lamb of Graham’s paper brought out Lamb the meditative, every two years or so … inward thinker, as the correlation of his modesty and humour. Gregory Leadbetter, Vice-Chair, The Friends of Coleridge 5 Friends of Coleridge Newsletter December 2015 The 2016 Summer Conference moves to Bristol

The Coleridge Summer Conference, Bristol, 1- 5 August 2016 Keynote speakers: Jeffrey Cox, Peter Manning, Margaret Russett. Academic Director: Tim Fulford The Coleridge Summer Conference meets again next year in a new venue, the verdant quadrangles of Wills Hall, in the green downs above Bristol. The Hall’s garden grounds, croquet lawn and tennis courts will be available for all participants, and there will be perambulations and bibulations in the beautiful walled gardens, yew avenue and romantic grotto of Goldney Hall. The Pneumatic Institution is at hand, as is the Avon Gorge and Leigh Woods, where STC and Southey walked and discussed . We aim for a wide range of papers on the literature of Coleridge’s circle in Bristol and beyond, as well as on Coleridge himself. Abstracts are welcomed on Coleridge, the Coleridge Circle, and Romantic Writing and Culture more generally. Papers on the themes of Romantic Bristol and the West Country are particularly welcome. For more details, please visit www.friendsofcoleridge.com/coleridge-summer-conference-2016

Christ’s Hospital in the late 18th century Anne Berens-Brown has edited a chronicle of the history of Christ’s Hospital, the school that Coleridge, Lamb and Leigh Hunt attended. Running to 50 pages, and fully illustrated, you can read the publication on the Friends of Coleridge website: www.friendsofcoleridge.com/christs-hospital

Coleridge Facebook group I suspect a good number of the Coleridge-related articles Friends of Coleridge are unaware of the Facebook group. available free online Do join up and post your news and Tim Fulford points out that the Friends might like announcements, and contact me if to be informed about Coleridge articles that can you need any further information. Jeffrey Barbeau be read free online. They derive from the 2012 summer conference and World’s most ancient mariner discuss, among other things, , The world’s oldest known The Pains of Sleep, the 1803 tour of Scotland with seabird is Wisdom, a Laysan the Wordsworths, Coleridge and Byron on . She has been seen Catherine the Great of Russia, Coleridge in The with her mate on the remote Prelude, and Coleridge walking the Lakeland fells. Midway Atoll near Hawaii. Visit www.erudit.org/revue/ravon/2012/v/n61/in- She is believed to be over 64 dex.html?lang=en.

Dick Daniels years old. 6 Friends of Coleridge Newsletter December 2015 Halsway Autumn Study weekend 2015 1798: The Ancient Mariner & Peter Bell I have been attending the Friends of Coleridge Study Week- and his friends who gathered in Nether Stowey and Alfoxden. ends since 2003, and it is always a delight to meet old and new Were they a threat to the government and the local popula- friends during these weekends and to enjoy the traditional mix tion? This was a brilliant performance (and impersonation) by of informality, companionship and academic excellence. Dennis Harkness, and a highly entertaining evening. This year, after the ritual welcome drink and a delicious After breakfast on Sunday James Castell gave a fascinating dinner, Peter Larkin claimed our full attention and appre- workshop on Peter Bell. We were divided into groups of eight, ciation during his splendidly comprehensive introduction and each group was asked to think about deceptively simple to the Weekend: ‘Reading The Ancient Mariner and Peter Bell topics such as animal sagacity or animal stubbornness, animal back to back’. Two centuries after these poems were written fidelity, or wisdom versus ethics. This approach led to much it has always been with a kind of wonder that I have listened discussion and interaction between the groups under James’s to our eminent scholars delving into the essence of them and skilful guidance, and the workshop was most enlightening. always managing to bring to the surface something fresh and Emma Mason gave the final lecture, ‘Sacramental Commons: original. This was just what Peter did on the first evening, Ecology as Sympathy in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’. leaving us eagerly looking forward to more. Emma is clearly concerned about all kinds of ecological issues, The next morning everyone was invited to participate in including global warming and the plastic polluting our seas. an early morning walk. However, most of the Friends, myself When she connected these concerns with Coleridge’s poem included, avoided such a strenuous start to the day. it was unexpected. Then she went on to align religion with After breakfast we were all stimulated by an original ecology, quoting from Thomas Berry’s Loneliness and Presence approach to The Ancient Mariner. Nicholas Dodd’s lecture, (2006): ‘Indeed we must say that the universe is a communion ‘Sleep and Prayer’, emphasised the moral, philosophical and of subjects rather than a collection of objects.’ This caused a educative elements in the poem, and by so doing introduced us wide-ranging debate, which was very exciting – controversial to a completely different way of reading and thinking about it. ideas broaden our view of Coleridge’s poetry and philosophy. John Williams gave us an insight into Wordsworth’s This lively lecture ensured that our 23rd Study Weekend ‘Addiction to Doubt’ revealed in Peter Bell (composed in 1798 ended in animated discussion and good spirits. I am already but not published until 1819). John confronted the question looking forward to next year! in Wordsworth’s mind – is this a poem or a narrative? – and Petrus (Piet) de Jong brought into focus Wordsworth’s doubts as to his ability to be a real poet. Once again we were presented with the moral values underlying the story: by the end of the poem Peter Bell Derrick Woolf’s collection of ‘Ancient has utterly changed from being a villain to an empathetic Mariner’ illustrated editions displayed person, and from being a pariah to a pillar of society. He has been taught by nature to care for those around him, and to be bitterly ashamed of his previous life and beliefs. In the afternoon under Peter’s guidance some Friends explored the hills and combes of the beautiful Quantocks. Others took an easier route by minibus to , Alfoxden, Triscombe, and the ancient church at West Bagborough, and then home to Halsway via Crowcombe Park and the Carew Arms. The weather was perfect, and everyone had a great time. After dinner Dennis Harkness, aka Tom Poole, introduced us to ‘the most dangerous man in Somerset’. He transported us back to a time when people in England, and especially the Derrick Woolf arranging his impressive collection of West Country, feared an invasion from France, and when any- illustrated ‘Ancient Mariner’ editions that were on one with a strange northern accent and striped trousers was display at the Halsway Study Weekend. suspected of being French – especially when they consorted He is a long-standing member of the Friends, and with the dangerous Mr Thelwall in his revolutionary-style was custodian at Coleridge Cottage for many years. white hat. A spy was sent to report on the radical Tom Poole 7 Friends of Coleridge Newsletter December 2015 Books received for review We have received the following books during the past few years. If any reader would like to review any of those listed for inclusion in the Coleridge Bulletin, please contact the editor, James Vigus ([email protected]). The list is revised in each issue, and those books that have been reviewed, or allocated for review, are removed. Wordsworth, War and Waterloo, ed. Jeff Cowton and Simon Bainbridge. Wordsworth Trust, 2015 Romantic Poetry and Literary Coteries, The Dialect of the Tribe, Tim Fulford. Palgrave Macmillan, 2015 Memorializing Animals During the Romantic Period, Chase Pielak. Palgrave Macmillan, 2015 The Letters of William Godwin Volume II: 1798-1805, ed. Pamela Clemit. OUP, 2014 The Landscapes of the Sublime 1700-1830, Cian Duffy. Palgrave Macmillan, 2013

The Henry Crabb Robinson Project and website For much of the 19th century, Henry Crabb Robinson all previous editions, (1775-1867) was a ubiquitous figure in London literary life. which were radically se- No-one better absorbed, adapted to and embodied the lective. The Early Diaries spirit of his age. This unobtrusively brilliant writer has left (pre-1811) are being edit- his 21st-century editors with a challenge, in the best sense. ed by Philipp Hunnekuhl The Henry Crabb Robinson Project will publish Robinson’s (Hamburg). A team most important manuscript works with Oxford University of special subject area Press, both in hardback and on Oxford Scholarly Editions editors, assembled to Online. The series editors are Timothy Whelan (Georgia reflect Robinson’s poly- Southern) and James Vigus (QMUL). mathic interests, will contribute to an edited collection The Reminiscences, one of the great 19th-century autobi- entitled ‘All Our Knowledge is Reminiscence’: Essays on ographies, is uniquely self-effacing: Robinson arranges the the Reminiscences of Henry Crabb Robinson. Editing and account of his life around his descriptions of the people he reflecting on Robinson’s prolific manuscript writing is encountered and befriended. The enormous Diary (from necessarily a team effort. James Vigus 1811), including the travel diaries, will be edited in subse- quent phases of the Project. The OUP edition will replace Visit the new Henry Crabb Robinson website (www.crabbrobinson.co.uk) It includes: ✦ an introduction to the Project ✦ a description of the edition of Robinson’s Reminiscences, Early Diaries and Diary forthcoming with Oxford University Press ✦ details of the people working on the Project ✦ a record of the Project’s events and funding ✦ online publications and other resources 8 Friends of Coleridge Newsletter December 2015

FEATURED WRITER: Ian Enters, A Mother’s Tale Ian Enters is a poet and playwright. He was drama Adviser for Sheffield and then Arts Adviser for the city. He directed Steel Valley Beacon Arts and is the current chair of the charity Reading Matters. He has a deep interest in Coleridge and is a member of the Friends. In June he walked the Coleridge Way, compiling a journal of his experiences. During his walk he wrote a ballad based on the tragic story of the charcoal burner John Walford, who murdered his wife and was hanged on a Quantock hill. Tom Poole attended the execution with 3,000 others. Both Coleridge and Wordsworth were deeply affected by the tale, and Wordsworth began a poem on the subject that was never finished.

He was handsome, black-haired like father, Now his limbs are full of torment That high hill was bald throughout my life. Medium height but strong of arm, Now his death is like a bruise Gibbet clear for miles all round. Scrubbed up well from charcoal burning, And the sun-set over Stowey The trees have grown as Walford’s Woods. Cream of face, eyes sun on glass. Brings the raven I did not choose. They spread wherever love is found. He twinkled and every Stowey lass His ragged wings and ancient voice All the charcoal he has burned Fancied my boy’s hand and more beside. Are God’s message and His curse. Has sifted into reddened soil For Jane was slovenly and squat Like seeds awaiting a rebirth, Now he hangs in a 30ft gibbet Used her fanny to get what’s what Warm breezes, rain and touch of sun. Law not satisfied with just a noose, And all the village knew her. I have to think it’s what he’s done, And every day from my cottage Turned his monstrous act of murder I see my son has not swung loose. I asked him what had made him do it, Into natural love and life. My heart it shrivelled when he died. A foolish question for a one-eyed stud. Oh John and Will my dearest boys, ‘It’s lonely out when guarding charcoal. Give me the task. Give me the knife. His darling flesh is shredded It’s more than body and soul can bear For I am ghost and ever grieving, By crows and gulls off Severn scour. When owls are floating past the midden A vengeful Mother and deserted wife. He smacked Jane, his forced-on wife, And vixens prance beside their den. An ugly girl, a tainted flower, Musk is floating through the valley Broke her skull and killed a life. And in the dark there’s mischief done.’

Pregnant she crowed by his brother Will, Well the gibbet is aloft Sniping at him, both full of cider, And the noose it tells no lie. So John broke and slit her throat Three thousand follow from the croft For the evil deep inside her. To where my son is doomed to die. Pushed her down in dead girl’s ditch. And Annie could not be prized from John My peaceable son put down a bitch. As they waited for what must be ‘The story of John Walford, his Sitting in the cart together ill-fated marriage, the murder May she rot for what she did, Whispering secrets to set them free. he committed and his hanging Played my boys for stupid toys. belongs to Nether Stowey where Came when charcoal hid their faces Will, where is he? Coleridge lived during three Came when moon was dark as sin Where’s my old man? wonderful years of creativity. Spread her legs for easy passage. Why alone must I ever be? The story has been treated by She was temptation and Satan’s kin. Now the charcoal chills and freezes. Wordsworth and a melodrama Now old flames are choked in snow appropriate for Victorian stages Annie Rice was all John’s fancy. And the whispering smoky tendrils has also been written. The ‘Will we wed when she has gone?’ Fade to wisps and go. They go. events occurred in 1792, a few ‘Need you ask, my bold John Walford? years before Coleridge moved to Stowey with Sara née Fricker. Name the day and we’ll be one.’ Must have heard the sigh in Stowey Little Annie a pretty thing, When the drop came suddenly? I wrote the first version of this at the Notley Arms in Monksilver Like a wood sprite quick and kind, Must have heard my groans in Stowey, before giving a brief talk and But as with bees she left her sting. Alone, no comfort left for me. reading to the pub’s Friday John adored her. I didn’t mind. Annie lasted but a three month. Evening Club, who all had the His wedding dance is on a rope-end. She signed for death, a certainty. great courtesy to listen to me.’ Now his piss is on his trews 9 Friends of Coleridge Newsletter December 2015 Two Somerset artists inspired by Coleridge’s poetry The scenery inspires not only poetry but a wealth of creativity in other areas of the arts. Artists and musicians are also involved in projects related to the poetry and writings of Coleridge and Wordsworth.

Juliet Harkness Juliet Harkness is a landscape and portrait painter working in oils. Her studio is in Somerset, close to the Quantock hills that inspire her landscape work. She trained at Winchester School of Art, and worked as an apprentice at Alan Caiger-Smith’s Aldermaston Pottery. In August this year she walked the full length of the Coleridge Way, making sketches and immersing herself in the landscapes visited by Coleridge. The paintings inspired by her walk were exhibited at Coleridge Cottage and at the Halsway Study Weekend. She is a member of ‘Edge’, four friends inspired by the natural beauty of the Quantock Hills. Their Coleridge- related works were exhibited at Contains Art, an innovative gallery in Watchet. Find out more at http://julietharkness.co.uk

Angie Wood The artist, musician and dancer Angie Wood lives by the Quantock Hills, and has long been inspired by the poetry and writings of Coleridge and Wordsworth. She has painted a number of innovative works based on The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Her paintings depict the wildness, mood and beauty of the natural world. She says that her work ‘takes a journey into the intuitive, creative, often unconscious hemisphere of our minds in search of a more compassionate solution to our human condition’, engaging with an emotional and energetic vitality beyond words and logic. You can see her work at the Contains Art gallery space on Watchet quay. Find out more at http://angwood.webs.com

© Friends of Coleridge 2015. Produced and designed by Terence Sackett, Nether Stowey. This enewsletter can only be as good as the material received, so we would welcome your support to make it a successful publication. Please email your news, articles and announcements to [email protected]. To increase readership, please copy the enewsletter to interested colleagues.