THE 2020 Charles Causley Festival in Launceston is set to be bigger and better than ever, introducing new, quirky events while still turning to the traditional.

Taking place over three days in July, it is hoped the festival, held annually in Launceston, will promote literature and creativity to even more people this summer — with plenty of talks, creative workshops, comedy, music and Cornish traditions in the pipeline.

Charles Causley, born in 1917 at Riverside, St Thomas, Launceston, went on to become one of the country’s most prolific poets of his time, taking inspiration from his younger years, his time in the Navy and, of course, his beloved Launceston.

He lived in the town all his life, and while being placed in the rankings amongst the likes of Ted Hughes and Siegfried Sassoon as the top writers of their time, Charles always counted Cornwall as his home. Despite his legacy as a poet and writer, Charles was also well-known for teaching at the National School in Launceston, having taught a number of people in the town, such as local historian and good friend to Charles, Arthur Wills, and town councillor and author, Jane Nancarrow, who often describes Charles as a huge influence when it comes to her writing.

He passed away in 2003 at his home Cyprus Well, located on Ridgegrove Hill, and is laid to rest in St Thomas Churchyard — where his life began 103 years ago at Riverside. The Charles Causley Trust acquired Cyprus Well in 2007, utilising the house as a centre to celebrate Charles’ life and work, while encouraging a new generation of writers and creatives to be inspired by the surroundings of his home in Cornwall through writing residencies.

The Charles Causley Festival was launched in June 2010, celebrating the legacy of the Launceston poet, his work, inspiration and influence on literature. The festival provides a range of entertainment, creative workshops and poetry events, with plenty planned for 2020.

This year, the festival will take place from Friday, July 24 to Sunday, July 26.

The Post caught up with Charles Causley Trust director, Kate Campbell, last Wednesday afternoon to find out more about what this year’s festival has in store for locals and visitors alike.

She said: “This year the festival will be taking place on July 24, 25 and 26 — so we’re hoping it will be sunny and warm!

“We want to have a festival for a range of people — for local people, local families in particular, and people coming to Cornwall on holiday. We want to show people that Launceston is a fantastic place to be and, through bringing people to the area, add to the footfall of the town.”

A big focus for the festival this year is the environment and being more sustainable. Kate continued: “We’re trying to be more environmentally friendly. We’re looking at having an environmental audit to see how we can be more green.”

As part of this, it is hoped the festival will be able to promote events with Cornish environmental authors and poets, with Bude-based writer and founder of the #2minutebeachclean Martin Dorey on the cards to attend this year.

“We want to be more sustainable,” Kate said. “It’s about being more aware of the impact a festival can have on a town. We all need to play our part. Having an environmental audit means we will have a company telling us what we need to do.

“It’s important for all of us because we all live on this planet, but to young people it’s proved to be such an important issue.”

Confirmed for this year’s line-up is performances from PopChoir, led by Sarah Bradley — owner of The Byre; a Causley Gala — with a variety of performances by Cornish artists showcasing Charles’ work, including Story Republic, Jim Causley, Simon Parker and Rick Williams; and, following on from the success of last year’s exhibition, an art trail with pieces of Cornwall-inspired artwork will be on display in the windows of Launceston businesses.

In addition, there will be the usual poetry readings taking place over the three days, with Guillemot Press, based at Lanhydrock, introducing some of their published authors at the festival, including Tanya Herschnan. And singer-songwriter Rosie Crow, who toured with Kate Bush, is set to have a gig on Friday, July 24 at the Eagle House Hotel.

Launceston Town Council is lending its support once again this year, providing a range of venues for festival events. ‘Above Bounds’ will be providing free performances for children at Launceston Library on the Saturday, and there will be even more family-orientated events happening across the town over the weekend, free of charge where possible, providing something for everyone.

A team of academics will be attending the festival from the universities of Plymouth and Exeter, whom the Causley Trust are connected with, and social media poet Brian Bilson will be giving a reading at the town hall.

As always, there will be various writing workshops across Launceston, and, following on from the success last year, a poetry slam will be held on the Sunday night. Kate said: “The first poetry slam, which was organised by Lou Sarabazic, our last writer-in-residence at Cyprus Well, was a huge success. There was a real appetite for it and we’re really keen to do it again.

“I was so impressed with the range of people who stood up on the stage and read their work — the two winners which were selected were about seven years old and then 70 years old. It’s about providing something for everyone and encouraging people to come along and read their work for a chance to win a prize.”

Also taking place this year is a People’s Herbarium Walk, led by artist Karen Howes. This free event will be starting at the Lawrence House Museum, home to a large collection of herbaria books dating back to the 1800s which were created by local man William Wise who, travelling on his bicycle, would collect herbarium and press them into a word press. The walk will leave the museum and follow in the footsteps of William Wise, collecting plants as they go. On their return to the museum, visitors will be able to potentially create a new field press for Lawrence House Museum, producing a new herbaria book with their discoveries.

In addition to all of this, food blogger Jane Sashet will be coming to Launceston in her campervan to provide a cooking demonstration, which will be filmed for YouTube; comedy and entertainment will take place around the town and a number of Launceston’s cafes and restaurants will also be participating in the events to provide delicious Cornish food and drink to locals and visitors alike. There is much more to be announced in the run-up to the 2020 Charles Causley Festival.

Kate said: “The festival has been really well received in recent years. Last year, I think we had people coming to things that they wouldn’t normally have come to which is what we want.

“We will still be having all those lovely little Causley things, but we’re just trying to add more to the pot this year. There’s going to be lots of very exciting things happening.

“I don’t want people to feel like the festival is all about things not relating to them and their creativity. Everyone just needs to watch this space and I would encourage everyone to come and try something. We had such a great time last year with people coming to things they didn’t know existed. It was a really nice vibe.”

The festival will be taking place on the same weekend as what would have been the 2020 Port Eliot Festival, which last year announced it would be cancelling the event.

Kate continued: “We want to create a festival that’s a real destination event — people can come and stay at the local hotels and B&Bs, eat at the local cafes and restaurants and shop in all the different independent businesses here.

“People can visit Cyprus Well, Charles’ home — it’s amazing for a town to have had such a prolific writer live and produce his work here, and it needs to be celebrated. We recognise that not everyone is into poetry and it’s not everybody’s idea of the arts, which is why we’re trying to promote as many different arts as possible through the festival.

“We’re not here to make money, we want to be here for the cultural offer for the town. Here in the summer, you hear voices from people all around the world — from Germany to America. There’s so many people that come here, it would be fantastic to showcase what a lovely town Launceston is.

“From what I know about Charles Causley, he was so proud of this town. He would be happy to know the festival is inspiring the next generation of artists. It’s about inspiring people to be creative. People undervalue the impact that it has on people’s wellbeing and how it makes people feel. If we allow people to have more access to it, it’s all good.”

Bringing the interview to a conclusion, Kate added: “I would really encourage people to come along to things this year. We will charge for some things so we can provide other events free of charge.

“Come along, support the festival and see if there’s something you would like to come along to and try.”

The 2020 Charles Causley Festival will take place from July 24 to 26. The Post will work alongside the Charles Causley Trust to provide details on new events, workshops and highlights for this year’s festival as they are announced.

For more information about the Charles Causley Trust and its work, visit causleytrust.org