Bridport Literary Festival | Monday 09 November

When James Aldred found the decaying horse-drawn wagon he had played in as a child, buried beneath New Forest brambles, he found himself transported in time.

Rebuilding the vehicle became a way to re-examine the forest itself. Aldred retraces the paths of his youth, exploring a landscape shaped as much by royal history and Romany heritage as by its otters and goshawks.

A Wagon in the Woods offers a portrait of one of the UK’s most cherished landscapes and considers the deep roots that bind us to place. Chaired by writer and editor Jon Woolcott.

James Aldred is an award-winning wildlife cameraman who has worked on many landmark natural history programmes with Sir David Attenborough.

In her new book journalist Beth Gardiner looks at our lovehate relationship with one of the world’s most ubiquitous materials.

Praised by the New York Times as “a compelling true-crime storyˮ, Gardiner’s deep dive exposes how petrochemical giants have turned to plastic as a financial lifeline, plotting to double production even as individuals are encouraged to use less.

Gardiner reveals how corporate litter campaigns cleverly shifted guilt onto consumers, and why the “mythˮ  of recycling plastic effectively has been promoted despite industry knowledge that it can’t work at scale. Author and green campaigner Julia Hailes chairs a revelatory discussion.

Poet and novelist Cecilia Knapp brings a relaxed, exploratory workshop to Bridport, looking at work from some of the most exciting contemporary poets who work across both poetry and prose.

Through close reading, discussion and playful, exercises, she will encourage you to seek inspiration from these dynamic writers and create not just your own poetry, but also prose, enriched by these findings.

Cecilia Knapp was Young People’s Poet Laureate for London in 2021 and was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for best single poem in 2022. Her debut poetry collection Peach Pig was published in 2022. Her latest novel is Lack.

2pm at The Electric Palace, 35 South Street, Bridport DT6 3NY

Tickets: £16.50 from Bridport Tourist Information Centre 01308 424901 or online Electric Palace

Stagnant growth, oppressive national debt and record tax burdens have convinced many that Britain’s economic best days are behind it. In Can We Be Rich Again?, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt offers an urgent riposte to widespread doom-mongering.

Drawing on decades in government, Hunt outlines a roadmap to reignite prosperity. From uncorking the potential of the United Kingdom’s worldleading tech and financial sectors to reforming stagnant state machinery, he argues that low growth is a solvable crisis.

Join us for a compelling discussion on how Britain can change its financial fortunes.

 

Event 23  | Jennifer Potter | Looking for Mr Schwitters

3.30pm at The Bull Hotel, 34 East Street, Bridport DT6 3LF

Tickets: £12.00 from Bridport Tourist Information Centre 01308 424901 or online via our Ticket Page

Modern art circles revere Kurt Schwitters as an “artist’s artistˮ, leader of the Dada movement and pioneer of pop art. But he ended his days as an exile, working in post-war Cumbria.

Writer and artist Jennifer Potter follows the traces left after Schwitters was dismissed as a “degenerateˮ by the Nazis and forced into exile. Potter blends biography, memoir and art history in an attempt to understand Schwitters’ mysterious influence on her own life and writing.

Exploring his revolutionary collages as well as an unfinished masterpiece hidden in the Langdale Valley, Potter reflects on exile and what it means to leave a mark on a place. Chaired by festival director, Adrian Turpin.

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Event 24 | James Holland | The Visionaries

5pm at Bridport Arts Centre, 9 South Street, Bridport DT6 3NR

Tickets: £14.00 from Bridport Tourist Information Centre 01308 424901 or online Bridport Arts Centre

Leading second world war historian James Holland discusses his new book The Visionaries with the novelist Boris Starling. Holland explores how architects of peace – spearheaded by Franklin D Roosevelt and Harry S Truman – had begun to think seriously about the 20th-century postwar world order long before the carnage had ended. Through bold initiatives such as the Marshall Plan, these leaders chose cooperation over retribution, laying the foundations for eight decades of Western peace and prosperity.

Holland argues that global stability is never an accident: it is designed. What lessons are there for today’s leaders?ˮ And will anyone step up to be a visionary for the 21st century?