Dorothy Wordsworth kept a commonplace book between 1820 and 1836. Mostly in her handwriting, it contains a variety of letters, recipes, home remedies, newspaper clippings and her own poems. This event is an incredible opportunity to explore the original manuscript up close with Professor Michelle Levy and our Principal Curator Jeff Cowton.

Michelle and Jeff will explore Dorothy’s commonplace book page by page. They will discuss Dorothy’s poetic practices of composition and revision, comparing with other samples of her poems as they appear in letters and other documents. They will also look at the narrative pieces she copies and the clippings she pastes in, as well as the way that Dorothy organised the contents of the book.

Michelle will be guiding us through Dorothy’s writing from BC, Canada, while Jeff will be handling Dorothy’s manuscripts in the Jerwood Centre in Grasmere. Between them they will take you on a fascinating journey through Dorothy’s commonplace book and her lesser-known writings.

Tickets: https://wordsworth.org.uk/blog/events/exploring-dorothy-wordsworths-commonplace-book/