The decision of the judges was final. The decision of the referees were even more final. We gave orgasmistically abandoned appreciation. Yes, it was the 19th Swindon Slam!, a poetic performance of epic proportions. Continue reading
The art of controlled violence – Henry Marsh at Swindon Festival of Literature
12 MayHenry Marsh, eminent neurosurgeon and author of Do No Harm had a rather unorthodox entry into his profession. Yes he went to Oxford University so his brains were never in any doubt but, as a self-confessed ‘self-dramatising teenager’, he chucked it all in for love, found himself a job as a hospital porter and wrote bad poetry. Continue reading
Educational myths – Daisy Christodoulou at the Swindon Festival of Literature
12 MayDaisy. Cute name. Comprehensive school accent. Jeans and a ponytail. Young. And a secondary school teacher who found time to write a book, a clever book – Seven Myths About Education – full of well supported, understandable arguments. All very welcome and refreshing.
Her conclusion, it seemed to me, is that Knowledge is a Good Thing. And teaching knowledge for knowledge sake is not only a good thing but essential. Continue reading
Will Hutton delivers election postmortem and wonders How Good We Can Be at Swindon Festival of Literature
11 MayEconomist, journalist, and Oxford college principal Will Hutton is angry. He bangs the lectern with his glasses, and gesticulates madly. He even uses profanities with clear intent.
The man who wrote The State We’re In now thinks we’re just “in a mess”. The audience laps it up. Continue reading
Switching off the brain? No chance! Children’s Day at Swindon Festival of Literature
10 MayBy the mid-point of the Swindon Festival of Literature, my brain can usually do with a good rest.
The organisers work us Festival-goers hard: getting up up before sunrise on day 1 for the Dawn Chorus, then making us think, and be creative, and think some more for the next six days. Continue reading
Empathy Handbook – Roman Krznaric at the Swindon Festival of Literature
10 May
Roman Krznaric
“A smart professional type was sobbing quietly in the corner of my train carriage. So many of us are carrying an intolerable burden. Be kind.”
So tweeted TV celeb Dan Snow, 6 May, and Swindon Festival of Literature retweeted, apropos of nothing, other than what a lovely sentiment and what an awful dearth of empathy there seemed to be around the election.
On Friday, philosopher Roman Krznaric shared how he lost his empathy at the age of ten, when his mum died. And he wanted it back.
This isn’t just a ‘what I did on my holidays and you might laugh/learn from it’ kind of tale. Roman has begun a rather civilised – (for what else could it be than one filled with hugs?) empathic revolution with the Empathy handbook, Empathy Library, Empathy Museum and Empathy Bus.
The Empathy Bus features a ‘human library’ where, instead of books, actual humans can be ‘read’; a chance to talk to people who have a completely different way of life to one’s own and, as novelist Harper Lee said: ‘step into their skin and walk around for a while’. Continue reading
Imagine the audience are all wearing Primark – Chris Tutton at the Swindon Festival of Literature
9 May
Chris Tutton
This was Chris Tutton’s second visit to Swindon. Six years ago he led a session in the Museum and Art Gallery.
Today [Friday 8 May 2015] he read from his new collection, Angles of Repose, and then offered up the stage to the audience to read their poems. Chris gave performance tips and advice.
‘Just let me know when I’ve read for 40 minutes’, he asked and began with talking muscles, dreams of the sea, off-the-cuff remarks, grown-up regrets, and magpie memories. His asides and introductions to the poems were funny and dry, I was never quite sure why he was telling us this stuff, then I’d find myself laughing. Continue reading
Vanessa LaFaye – English v American market at Swindon Festival of Literature
9 MayThe sticky subject of simplifying modern literature for an American audience was discussed during an interview with author Vanessa LaFaye on Friday.
Sticky, because Vanessa is an American living in the Wiltshire. And sticky, because the author is being forced to choose between her preferred nuances within the novel, and commercial success in the US market. Continue reading
Boxing Handsome at the Swindon Festival of Literature
8 May
Matt Holland, Anna Whitwham and Paddy Fitzpatrick
For me, this was the most fascinating event of the Festival so far.
A lecturer in Masculinity at Royal Holloway University. A boxing trainer.
One with a refined accent, defined cheekbones and flowing clothes.
The other, dapper in a pork pie hat, glittering wrist watch, Irish.
Both were considered.
While I won’t necessarily watch a boxing match, I’m drawn to trained fighting; the Muhammad Ali ideal of ‘dance like a butterfly, sting like a bee’, the marriage of grace and intelligence with brutality. Blood and brains.
The eye-opener about boxing, as seen by trainer Paddy Fitzpatrick, is the universality of successful boxing – the rules can be applied to anything. I’ve heard the same said about dancing, mindfulness, overcoming anxiety, virtuoso musicianship, performance and success in any walk of life. Politics, especially politics. Continue reading
Festival Chronicle 