The Hay Festival programme is out. Details arrived by email on Saturday, which is fortunate as the next letter of the A-Z writing challenge is H.
The Hay Literature Festival is more than a book event. It is two weeks of stimulation and reflective entertainment. This year the dates are 26 May to 5 June
We are not going to make the trip to Wales, but that does not stop me looking through the programme and highlighting writers, drooling over books, and soaking up ideas.
Here are a few events, just in the history section, that caught my eye.
The 2015 Nobel Literature Laureate talks about Russia and the USSR. Her Nobel citation was for “her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time.”
The director and writer of this documentary introduce a special screening of the film in which Sands, a human rights lawyer, conducts conversations with two men, Niklas Frank and Horst von Wächter, whose fathers were indicted as war criminals for their roles in the Second World War.
Philippe Sands THE ERIC HOBSBAWM LECTURE: EAST WEST STREET: ON THE ORIGINS OF GENOCIDE AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY Event 117 • • Venue: Llwyfan Cymru – Wales Stage
The lawyer and writer explores how personal lives and history are interwoven. Drawing from his acclaimed new book – part historical detective story, part family history, part legal thriller – he explains the connections between his work on crimes against humanity and genocide, the events that overwhelmed his family during the Second World War, and an untold story at the heart of the Nuremberg Trial. Chaired by Helena Kennedy.
Maggie Andrews THE ‘ACCEPTABLE FACE OF FEMINISM’: 100 YEARS OF THE WOMEN’S INSTITUTE – UNIVERSITY OF WORCESTER SERIES Event 206 • • Venue: Llwyfan Cymru – Wales Stage
The WI is fondly thought of in terms of ‘jam and Jerusalem’, but its roots are intertwined with the women’s suffrage movement and the many campaigns that have sought to articulate the needs of women since the First World War. The Professor of Cultural History will explore the political and social initiatives that helped define the radical organisation.
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I won’t add any more; else I will end up with most of the history section.
We have not been to “Hay” for a few years. If we were in the UK, we would probably go, but the pull to travel is not great enough, which is our loss, I guess.
The last time we went Jim saw Alan Bennett from a distant seat in a large tent. I sat in the Festival Cafe with a couple of other people who had not paid £25 to hear and see the man in the flesh, present his funny and fabulous talk. Fortunately for them and me, the organisers broadcast an up-close presentation of what was happening in the main tent, onto a screen in the cafe. When Jim came out of the packed tent, he said, “you should have come, it was great.” I grinned and said, “I know.”
I do hope the organisers record more of the presentations, so the Hay sparkle is shared without the journey.
There are moments when you are glad you sat in the right chair. Yesterday afternoon at Sao Bras Jazz Club was one of those goosebump moments. The Hot Manouche Trio that turned out to be a quartet, played Django Rheinhart and other jazz greats. They are playing again in Cafe Cantaloupe on June 28, 2016. Well…
I don’t want to focus my thoughts on war right now or the arguments about who is right or wrong. What I need is hope. So with that purpose in mind I have edited and updated this article first written in 2014. Maybe it will resonate with your desire for peace and hope too. Image…
Sitting under a willow tree, near the cobbled streets of Paraty, I am wondering why book lovers would make the long journey to this International Literature Festival. Our journey has taken a month, as we decided that if we wanted to go to the Festival we should also have a good look around Brazil. We…
Tavira and Glasgow have a cultural connection that is about to become even more potent. In 2019 two Scottish poets performed in Tavira, together with their Portuguese colleagues, and this year the event will take place in Glasgow. Unfortunately, there is not enough money for travel and hotels. From the total costs of € 6.000…
A group of Swedish writers are in Tavira this week, 12-19 November 2016. The group are called “Magic – writers without boundaries.” Led by Barbara Fellgiebel from Algarve Friends and Literature Association some of them will be peforming their work along with local writers at Tavira Library on Wednesday 16 November (6:30 doors open for 7pm…
This last event at Flipside, was introduced by Liz Calder, as a celebration of some of Brazil’s writers. Everyone attending the workshop was given the book “Other Carnivals – New stories from Brazil”. This is a book of 12 short stories and four of the authors, were not only present, but they read parts of…
One Comment
Oh, thanks. Now you’ve made me drool and wish I could go to Wales. 🙂
Rebecca at The Ninja Librarian
Oh, thanks. Now you’ve made me drool and wish I could go to Wales. 🙂
Rebecca at The Ninja Librarian