SUNDAY 26 MAY
@hayfestival
2.30pm
2.30pm
[93] 2.30pm OXFAM MOOT £9
[96] 2.30pm BBC TENT
Marion Turner
Talking Books with Kapka Kassabova and Stig Abell
Chaucer: A European Life
BBC World News and BBC News Channel
Turner’s spellbinding new biography explores the poetry and the adventurous, cosmopolitan world of the father of English literature. She documents a series of vivid episodes, moving from the commercial wharves of London to the frescoed chapels of Florence and the kingdom of Navarre, where 14th-century Christians, Muslims and Jews lived side by side. The narrative recounts Chaucer’s experiences as a prisoner of war in France, as a father visiting his daughter’s nunnery, as a member of a chaotic Parliament and as a diplomat in Milan, where he encountered the writings of Dante and Boccaccio. Chaired by Jerry Brotton.
Kapka Kassabova spent her formative years behind the Iron Curtain in Bulgaria and much of her work focuses on journeys and the search for a sense of place and identity amidst sometimes turbulent histories. Described by one reviewer as “a poet and author who writes in English, with a European imagination”, her first novel Reconnaissance tells the story of a young backpacker travelling through New Zealand whose journey develops into something deeply personal, exploring memory and family myth. In 2008 her memoir Street Without a Name won critical acclaim for its meditation on the speed of change across eastern Europe. In Twelve Minutes of Love she travels through the intimate history of Argentine Tango and her latest book Borders sees her return to the Balkans to explore the physical and psychological lines that define the region. The award-winning novelist, poet and travel writer talks to Stig Abell.
[94] 2.30pm OXFAM MOOT £9
Adam Rutherford
The Book of Humans: The Story of How We Became Us Humans are the slightest of twigs on a single family tree that encompasses four billion years, a lot of twists and turns and a billion species. All of those organisms are rooted in a single origin with a common code that underwrites our existence. Rutherford explores how many of the things once considered to be exclusively human are not: we are not the only species that communicates, makes tools, utilises fire or has sex for reasons other than to make new versions of ourselves. Evolution has, however, allowed us to develop our culture to a level of complexity that outstrips any other observed in nature. Rutherford presents Inside Science on BBC Radio 4. His previous books are Creation and A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived. [95] 2.30pm HAY FESTIVAL FOUNDATION STAGE £9
Jonathan Coe talks to Sarfraz Manzoor
Fictions: Middle England The new novel from the comic master, author of What A Carve Up!, The Rotters Club and The Closed Circle. Beginning eight years ago on the outskirts of Birmingham, where car factories have been replaced by Poundland, and London, where frenzied riots give way to Olympic fever, Middle England follows a brilliantly vivid cast of characters through a time of immense change. “It was tempting to think, at times like this, that some bizarre hysteria had gripped the British people…” Sponsored by Richard Booth’s Bookshop
free but ticketed
[97] 2.30pm MEETING PLACE ON SITE £8
Alan Nicholls
Mountain Warehouse Walk 2: The Town of Books Walk Sunday’s walk explores the history of the bookshops of Hay, with their many architectural quirks and gems. The guide explains the development of the secondhand book trade in the town, with colourful anecdotes about Hay’s book culture, its dealers and its myths. Distance 2.5 miles. Sponsored by Mountain Warehouse [98] 2.30pm MEETING PLACE ON SITE £18
Drawing and Walking
With Celia Johnson Taking participants to a particularly lovely stretch of the river Wye to respond through writing or drawing to the landscape and its ambient sounds. Suitable for anyone interested in the landscape, walking, writing and drawing. Previous drawing experience is not necessary, all materials provided. Please come prepared for outdoor activity. Adult
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