This study-day is a collaboration between the Edward Thomas Fellowship and the Richard Jefferies Society. It will examine both writers, particularly their shared interests and concerns, and the Wiltshire landscape that they both knew and wrote about.
The distinguished poet, novelist and literary scholar, Jem Poster, who is currently preparing a new edition of Richard Jefferies: His Life and Work by Edward Thomas for Oxford University Press, will be the keynote speaker. His lecture is entitled 'First Known When Lost: Edward Thomas, Richard Jefferies, and the Rural World'. There will also be talks by Richard Emeny (a former Honorary Secretary of the Edward Thomas Fellowship, who has written and lectured prolifically on Thomas and various related authors) and Terry Lloyd (a Swindonian, and since childhood an enthusiast for the works of Thomas and Jefferies, who has thoroughly explored their landscapes on foot).
This event will be held in Liddington Village Hall, from 10.30 to 4.30. Participants may bring a packed lunch or eat in the Village Inn nearby. During lunchtime, publications and other merchandise from the Edward Thomas Fellowship and the Richard Jefferies Society will be offered for sale in the Village Hall, where there will probably also be a second-hand book stall. All Saints' Church will be open to visitors.
Places at the study-day cost £15 (£5 for students and unemployed people), which include refreshments but not lunch. Bookings must be made before 1st May. A full programme and a booking-form can be downloaded from the Fellowship's website at <www.edward-thomas-fellowship.org.uk>.
At the end of the afternoon, there will be an opportunity, using car-share, to visit St James's Church at Eastbury, Berkshire, which features an impressive engraved-glass window by Laurence Whistler, commemorating Edward and Helen Thomas, and where Helen is buried in the churchyard.
For more information about the study-day, contact its co-ordinator, Martin Haggerty: martin@envoy.dircon.co.uk or 01723 - 37 55 33.
