
The Wordsworth Lecture: The Poetry That Changed The World
With Jonathan Bate, Jessica Fay and Tim Fulford.
About The Wordsworth Lecture: The Poetry That Changed The World

Join us for a landmark Wordsworth Lecture at the British Library as the Wordsworth Trust celebrates its acquisition of Rydal Mount, final home of William Wordsworth, 'the poet who changed the world'. This special event will illuminate the lives, writings, and enduring legacy of William and Dorothy Wordsworth at Rydal. Featuring Professor Sir Jonathan Bate, Chair of the Wordsworth Trust, in conversation with Professor Tim Fulford, author of Experimentalism in Wordsworth’s Later Poetry, and Dr Jessica Fay, editor of The Poetry of Dorothy Wordsworth.
Your support
The British Library is a charity. Your support helps us open up a world of knowledge and inspiration for everyone. Please consider adding a donation to your basket.
Professor Sir Jonathan Bate
Professor Sir Jonathan Bate is a biographer, critic, broadcaster and scholar, and an international leader in green thinking and applied humanities.
More
His other books include Radical Wordsworth: The Poet who Changed the World, The Genius of Shakespeare, and biographies of John Clare and Ted Hughes. Jonathan is Regents Professor of Literature and Foundation Professor of Environmental Humanities in Global Futures, the School of Sustainability and the College of Liberal Arts at Arizona State University. He is also a Senior Research Fellow of Worcester College, Oxford, and Chair of the Hawthornden Foundation.
Jessica Fay
Jessica Fay is a Teaching Fellow and co-director of the Arts of Place network at the University of Birmingham.
More
She is the editor to two major new volumes on Dorothy Wordsworth. The Poetry of Dorothy Wordsworth is the first scholarly edition designed to introduce long-neglected verse to students, critics, and general readers; Dorothy Wordsworth in Context is the most substantial critical and contextual study to date of a writer of exceptional influence and perceptive power. Jessica’s other books include Wordsworth’s Monastic Inheritance and The Collected Letters of Sir George and Lady Beaumont to the Wordsworth Family.
Tim Fulford
Tim Fulford is an Emeritus Professor at De Montfort University.
More
Tim Fulford has been excited – and troubled – by Wordsworth’s poetry ever since, aged 18 and sick for home, he read the Prelude in an ice-bound Oslo. He has published three books about him – opening his neglected later poetry to revaluation. He’s also a specialist in the writings of Coleridge and Southey, and has produced many editions designed to restore forgotten Romantic works to notice. Currently, he’s editing the Collected Letters of Thomas Beddoes (the experimental scientist who was also Wordsworth’s doctor) and the Collected Letters of John Clare.
Venue and bar opening times
This is an in-person only event in the British Library Knowledge Centre.
The Knowledge Centre and bar open from 18.00.
Please arrive no later than 15 minutes before the start time of this event. If you have specific access requirements please email customer@bl.uk
Concessions
There are a range of concessions available. These include discounts for British Library Members, Young Persons (16–25s), and visitors on Universal/Pension Credit and free entry for carers.
Want to hear more about events like this?
Sign up to our emails to be the first to hear about upcoming events and exhibitions at the Library.
Dates and times
You might also like

John Berger: From Life
The life and work of one of the great cultural figures of the last century.
More info
Six-week courseOnline Course: Discovering Medieval Manuscripts
Join us for this 6 week online course while we explore Medieval manuscripts and the stories they contain.
More info
The Romantic World of Barbara Cartland
Matthew Sweet talks to Shahidha Bari about the life and legacy of romance writer Dame Barbara Cartland.
More info