Kimberlee Roberts of Ephrata tests life as an English scholar in North West England

2014 Sep 29

Kimberlee Roberts, a sophomore at Widener University from Ephrata, Pa., had the chance to become immersed in the life and work of British Romantic poet William Wordsworth recently. She and two classmates traveled to the Lake District in North West England, Wordsworth's birthplace and the inspiration for much of his writing, to attend the 43rd Wordsworth Summer Conference. This opportunity arose as a result of Widener English Professor Daniel Robinson's appointment as the first Homer C. Nearing Jr. Distinguished Professorship in English. He set aside part of the grant money he received to help fund the students' travel.

The 10-day conference involved traditional components like scholarly paper presentations and lectures in addition to daily excursions to explore Wordsworth's home.

While the students felt connected to Wordsworth through the conference sessions and excursions, the opportunity to see his manuscripts and first editions is what truly made the trip memorable. They visited the Jerwood Centre, which holds more than 90 percent of known Wordsworth verse drafts in addition to letters and other documents, including the notebooks of Wordsworth's sister, Dorothy.

While at Jerwood, the students participated in a manuscript workshop. They learned how researchers from all over the world continue to pore over Wordsworth's manuscripts to write about his work. Robinson is one of these researchers and is currently involving Roberts on a new project that will examine the friendship of Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge through their poetry.