John Simpson
“My life isn’t all dodging bullets and bombs,” says veteran BBC correspondent John Simpson, before telling tales of derring-do, which include dodging bombs, bullets, and Afghan border control (dressed in a burqa, hijab and niqab face veil).
For someone who grew up wanting to be a journalist (and eventually becoming one) John Simpson was something of an inspiration, so I was delighted that he was as affable and interesting as I hoped he might be. Continue reading
Newspaper pundit and author Will Hutton
Mid-festival Monday at the Swindon Festival of Literature, and the punters are getting antsy. They had their fun in the sun at Lower Shaw Farm on Sunday, now they’re ready to have a moan about the government. Continue reading
Nat Luurtsema
I’ve never seen a comedian die on stage before last night. It wasn’t pleasant, and it’s something I’d rather never see again.
Putting on an alternative standup comedy night as part of the Swindon Festival of Literature wasn’t, in itself, such a far-out idea. The festival has a proud history of showcasing comedic talent: Julian Clary in 2009, Milton Jones in 2010, Harry Hill in 2011, Alex Horne last week…
This was a new venture though – little known comedians performing club-style routines, as opposed to household names talking about their books, and cracking some gags along the way. Continue reading
Hugh Warwick at the Lower Shaw Family Fun Day, a Swindon Festival of Literature event
I wonder if there’s any point during my life at which I’ll stop thinking ‘cooool’ when someone tells me something, well, cool?
Hugh Warwick’s Swindon Festival of Literature talk about his new book, The Beauty in the Beast, is pitched at an aged 10-plus audience, by which I assume the organisers mean 10, and those whose appreciation of what constitutes cool has failed to mature past the level of, say, your average Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. Continue reading
T M Alexander at Lower Shaw Family Fun Day, a Swindon Festival of Literature event
Children love stories, and love writing stories to entertain themselves and others. But how do you get primary school aged children thinking about plot and characterisation?
And at the Lower Shaw Family Fun Day, a Swindon Festival of Literature event, T M Alexander – author of the Tribes series, a kind of Famous Five for the new millennium – was on hand to take budding young authors through the creative stages of writing their own story. Continue reading
There’s the performance poetry of the Slam!. The poetry of the nursery rhyme. The poetry of hip hop and the singer-songwriter, the folk singer, the hymn. The limerick, the nonsense poem, the psalm, the sonnet and the haiku. Poetry of strict form and poetry of tradition. The poetry of the streets and the poetry of abstract concepts.
Some people don’t call themselves poets. They label themselves spoken word performers, slammers, MCs and lyricists. Continue reading
But what a great performance! Seasoned hosts Sarah-Jane Arbury and Marcus Moore have been doing this a long time – Swindon’s is the second longest running in the UK – but both are as fresh as a daisy, warming up the audience with an introductory clap along to Donna Summer’s Hot Stuff. Continue reading
Disappointed I didn’t get to see / hear this one.
I spoke to organiser Hilda Sheehan (as herself this time, not Domestic Cherry Mabel) in between FLIT 180 and Swindon Slam! and she was very pleased with how the world premiere of the Toothill Long Poem turned out. Continue reading
FLIT 180 – organisers Karen Griffiths, Hilary McGinty, Daniel Golton
Long books turned into short films? What would young filmmakers make of them?
This inaugural FLIT 180 film competition screened four films of three minutes each, with their starting point a piece of literature. The winning piece ‘The Man and the Serpent’ was a twist on Aesop’s Fables. In second place, was THAT teen fave, Twilight, followed by Michael Murpurgo’s Conker and The Open Window.
Competition organisers, Karen Griffths and students Hilary McGinty and Daniel Golton have been meeting together in a Highworth-based reading group. A keen filmmaker already, Daniel suggested they combine the two loves into a competition for young people.
I asked of Daniel and Hilary what were their favourite books, ‘anything by Tolkein’ said Daniel, and ‘Name of the Wind’ by Patrick Rothfuss said Hilary. Ahh fantasy fans after my own heart! I’ve only just finished Name of the Wind myself, great book.
And, by the way, here’s the film that won Daniel the film of the month on Filmnation:
Winners and commendeds came from across the country to the celebratory event at the Swindon Festival of Literature last night, held at the Swindon Art Gallery and Museum. It was judged and special guested by well-regarded poet Michael Symmons Roberts, with lovely Spanish guitaring by Robert Jacks and uplifting songs by Serene Boulton…
But…
It was all just a bit, well, quiet.
I don’t know. I like a bit of showbiz. Not the silly extremes of vote-athons like X Factor where they take 5 minutes and an ad break to reveal the winners. But, more of a performance. More anticipation. More excitement. Continue reading
Festival Chronicle 