upfront
HAVE YOU GOT HAY FEVER?
The celebrated Hay Festival returns with another packed week and a half of exciting literary events. Gareth Ludkin picks through the best bits.
A BUZZ 10
pilgrimage for book lovers and one of the jewels in the crown of the British cultural calendar, The Hay Festival has been heralded as one of the most important literary events in the western world. Landing in the last week of
May and the fi rst of June, the Hay Festival sees the picturesque Welsh town of Hay-on-Wye swell under the weight of thousands of eager and inquisitive minds.
Drawing some of the most highly respected names in politics, literature, music, sport, religion and culture, the festival never fails to deliver a lineup of unquestionable value, and this year is certainly no different.
Originally founded by Peter Florence and his father Norman in 1988, the festival has grown rapidly from its humble beginnings. And with the success of the Hay Festival in Wales – which now manages to draw crowds of over 150,000 people – Florence has expanded the festival globally. Versions of Hay can now be found in such exotic locations as Xalapa, Nairobi and Cartegena, amongst many others. The Hay Festival has a rich tradition of drawing in illusive and high profi le political and cultural fi gures. Its unique reputation seeing the likes of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton grace the stage to philosophise on world affairs late into the evening, as well as the controversial author Salman Rushdie. World-renowned economist, Joseph Stiglitz, the
reverend Desmond Tutu and Paul McCartney can also be counted as some of the high profi le guests to have appeared at the festival over the years. Bill Clinton called the Hay Festival the “Woodstock
Bill Clinton called the Hay Festival the “Woodstock of the mind”... while ex-politician Tony Benn said: “In my mind it’s replaced Christmas.”
of the mind” upon his appearance in 2001, while ex- politician Tony Benn said: “In my mind it’s replaced Christmas.” With the enviable talent of drawing such high profi le guest speakers to a small corner of Wales year in year out, Peter Florence has continued this trend in 2011 with David Miliband and Mohamed ElBaradei appearing alongside many other headline guests.
But of course, it’s not just the high profi le names that make Hay such a special festival. Famed for its
multitude of book shops, the picturesque Hay-on-Wye sees book worms happily browsing for hours along the expertly stocked book shelves of the many book shops dotted around the town. And with various other locations in Hay providing poetry readings, book launches, storytelling sessions; events for the kids and much more, you’ll have no trouble whiling away the hours. And even if you don’t manage to get your hands on any of the more sought-after tickets, celebrity spotting on the Hay Festival green, with a great book and deckchair to relax in, is just as much fun – as long as the sun’s out of course. This year’s festival programme is once again suitably jammed with interesting talks, events, discussions, readings and musical performances. And fl icking through the programme it’s hard to isolate just one day in which to attend. With great events littering the programme you’ll undoubtedly fi nd yourself spending an extended weekend fl itting between events in the hope of catching the best of this year’s programme. Celebrating the work of the English language’s most infl uential translations, from the King James authorised translation of the Bible 400 years ago (which will be read in a 96-hour reading in several four-hour segments across the festival), to the continuation of our ongoing enlightenment in the context of what we now know about the human mind, heart, plurality, conviction and faith; the festival programme caters for a broad range of topics from science to religion and everything in between. The poster boy of science, Brian Cox, considers the laws of light, gravity, time, matter and energy,
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