Ella Westland, Malcolm Gould, and Luke Thompson – Excavations: Writers and the Clay Country

Join Malcolm Gould, Luke Thompson, and Ella Westland for an insightful discussion on the creative process and the connections between writing and the land. Malcolm Gould, of Wheal Martyn Museum, introduces the Cornish Alps, Luke Thompson discusses the powerful poetry of Jack Clemo, and Ella Westland talks about Daphne du Maurier and other authors who have been drawn to the working communities and surreal landscapes of this atmospheric place.

Malcolm, a Bard of the Cornish Gorsedh, is a guide for the Wheal Martyn Clay Works, formerly a fourth-generation worker in the China Clay industry. Luke’s work on Jack Clemo includes editing his Selected Poemsand early dialect tales A Proper Mizz-Maze, and writing a biography, Clay Phoenix. He is also editor of Guillemot Press and teaches at Falmouth University. His latest book, Domadomadoma-Blumblumblum: Conversations with Other Animals, was published in 2024. Ella has been involved with the Festival from its inception and is published widely on Cornwall and its writers.