At the Wordsworth Trust Symposium, I had the opportunity to meet Dr Manny Ling from the University of Sunderland. Earlier in the ‘Wordsworth, War and Waterloo’ exhibition, I had spotted some signposting on the museum walls, which I discovered Ling had designed by hand using calligraphy pens. This digital iteration gave the exhibition a hand touched feel, something that I have now come to associate with Ling's work.
Ling was kind enough to gift me a copy of the book he designed with the Trust, below, Wordsworth and Basho: Walking Poets. This fantastic book unites nature in the manuscripts of William and Dorothy Wordsworth (England) with the poet Matsu Basho and poet-painter Yosa Buson (Japan). Contemporary artists and poets responding to the work, to walking and the theme of nature.
The book is beautifully assembled, full of poetry that sings of the land and inviting artwork. Well worth a read. While staying at Grasmere, I found myself wanting to walk more, rising early to spot deer and draw rocky peaks that I might like to climb when I again return in August.