Past Conferences: 2026
conferences: index | previous: 2025 | next: 2027
Wessex Hotel, Street, Glastonbury
Friday 14th to Sunday 16th August 2026
‘Threads of delicate affinity’
For this year’s conference we return to the Wessex Hotel in Street situated close to the locations of A Glastonbury Romance. The title of the conference is taken from JCP’s early draft verse autobiography, part of which was published in NL 100 (pages 44-52):
And the old man whose mortal senses fade
Has this – that by his longer life on earth
The threads of delicate affinity
Between his mind, his body and the mind
And bodily forms of Nature are drawn close,
Are made at once more complex and more near.
The passage emphasises the interaction between body, mind and nature in Wordsworthian fashion, which, JCP implies, deepens in old age. For JCP, the ‘threads of delicate affinity’ metaphorically point to the ‘close’ bonds between the human and nonhuman, but, lifted out of context, the phrase can also be taken to refer to the close affinities between writers such as the Powys brothers or the Powyses and other writers (and their readers) – or to transatlantic scholarly connections, some of the topics of our conference lectures. The ‘threads’ can also be taken literally to refer to the lace-making business of Marian Powys, the subject of another of this year’s lectures, and figuratively to the connections that Marian forged during her decades in New York. JCP’s poem ‘To Marian Powys’ begins, ‘Oh lace-maker, what joys, what fears/Do you weave into your thread?’ In his draft verse autobiography, JCP also refers to the ‘thin threads’ of memory that bring ‘linked associations of past joy’ into the present, a prominent preoccupation of his writing and a sensation familiar to readers of JCP and perhaps especially to regular Powys Society conference-goers who carry the ‘past joy’ of previous meetings into renewed ‘associations’ while gladly welcoming new enthusiasts into our midst.
As the first of our conference speakers, we are delighted to welcome John Gray, who last year succeeded Timothy Hyman as President of the Powys Society. In his lecture, John will explore how JCP, Llewelyn Powys, and T. F. Powys each regarded contemplation rather than action as the chief end in life but differed in how they understood a contemplative life. We are also delighted to welcome three other speakers, each of whom is a newcomer to the conference. Julie Lasky, who is working on a biography of Marian Powys, will present her research into the various locations of Marian Powys’s lace-making business on New York City. Courtney Welu, an archivist, will give a lecture on her late great-uncle Darrell Emmel and his connections with the work of JCP. Courtney will also discuss her work with the Powys archives at the Harry Ransom Center in Austin, Texas. Mark Chutter, an expert on Thomas Hardy, will give a lecture on the Powys family’s connections with writers and artists who interacted in Chaldon Herring.
The Saturday afternoon will be, as usual, free for local expeditions. Members are invited to join a group outing to Wookey Hole, a 25-minute drive from the Wessex Hotel. Wookey Hole is a key Powysian location, given the Wookey Hole chapter of A Glastonbury Romance, the first editions of which contain a scene that was cut in the 1955 Macdonald edition but which is restored in this year’s re-issued Penguin edition.
WOOKEY HOLE: Members who would like to come on the outing — which will involve a group tour of the caves — should pay in advance (as shown below) by 30 April 2026 when submitting the conference booking form.
On Saturday evening, Kim Wheatley will chair an informal panel, ‘How I discovered the Powyses’, featuring Powys Society members Paul Cheshire, Louise de Bruin, Anthony Head, Chris Michaelides, and Kevin Taylor. Panelists will tell of their earliest readerly encounters with the Powys family and present their favourite passages. Audience participation will be warmly encouraged.
Members may wish to bring to the conference their books for sale in the book room.
Prof. Kim Wheatley, Conference Director
Programme
Friday 14 August
16.00 Arrival
17.30 Reception, Chair’s welcome (Paul Cheshire) and launch of Penguin’s new edition of A Glastonbury Romance
18.30 Dinner
20.00 John Gray: ‘Varieties of Contemplation in the Powys Brothers’
Saturday 15 August
8.00-9.30 Breakfast
9.30 Julie Lasky: ‘The Lace Merchant’s Progress: Where Marian Powys Did Business in Manhattan’
10.45 Coffee
11.15 Courtney Welu: ‘John Cowper Powys Archives at the Harry Ransom Center and the Personal Collection of Darrell Emmel’
13:00 Lunch
Afternoon free: Join fellow Society members on a group outing to Wookey Hole, or alternatively on your own explore locations in Glastonbury associated with A Glastonbury Romance, such as the Abbey ruins, the Tor, or Chalice Well
19:00 Dinner
20:30 Panel discussion: ‘How I discovered the Powyses’ with audience participation welcomed
Sunday 16 August
8.00-9.30 Breakfast
9.30 Mark Damon Chutter: ‘Bohemia in East Chaldon’
10.45 Coffee
11.00 AGM
12.00 Open forum with members: discussion of subjects raised during the conference and farewell messages
13.00 Lunch
15.00 Departure
Our Conference Organisers: Anna Rosic (l) and Louise de Bruin (r)
