Members' News Iss 7 23 feb.qxd
19/3/10
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THE LONDON LIBRARY ANNUAL LECTURE 2010 at the Hay Festival As some of you will already have seen announced on the Library’s website, the 2010 Annual Lecture – Sir Max Hastings, speaking about his research on Winston Churchill – will take place at the Hay Festival. With its impeccable literary credentials and immense popularity – around 80,000 visitors attend each year – partnering with the Hay Festival offers the Library an opportunity to reach potential new members and to reinforce our position at the heart of British cultural life. Many of our current members are already Hay regulars, and with one-third of the Library’s membership living outside London, it is a chance to bring the Annual Lecture to a fresh setting and an even wider audience.
© Amie Stamp
Sir Max Hastings.
Sir Tom Stoppard.
Also appearing as part of Hay’s schedule will be the Library’s President, Sir Tom Stoppard, and Library staff will be manning a stand throughout the Festival where visitors can come and learn more about the benefits of membership. Please drop by and say hello! As usual, an edited version of the Annual Lecture will appear in the autumn issue of the magazine, allowing all members to share in this special event. An allocation of tickets for Sir Max’s lecture, on Saturday 5 June at 4pm, has been put aside for Library members; to buy a ticket, call the Festival’s booking line on 01497 822629 and quote your membership number, bearing in mind that tickets do sell quickly. Scene at the 2009 Hay Festival.
THE HAY FESTIVAL, 27 May–6 June 2010 Since its foundation in 1987, the Hay Festival has grown to become one of the most recognisable international arts and cultural brands, with Hay events occurring throughout the year across the world, whilst the original annual Hay Festival on the Welsh–English border now features more than 500 events across 10 days. As the world’s leading literary festival, Hay’s highlights over more than two decades are innumerable. Festival founder Peter Florence cites one of his favourites to be the visit of a poetic hero: ‘We have been amazingly fortunate. One time, Ted Hughes read Birthday Letters, his poetry collection about Sylvia Plath, during a thunderstorm. It was so appropriate to have this elemental battle going on as a backdrop.’ Edward Saïd performed his final public lecture at Hay, when 1,300 people stood on their chairs and cheered his ‘remarkable last words’; and, following a sell-out talk, Bill Clinton led an all-night poker session in 2001, during which he coined the memorable expression that has served as a Festival leitmotif
36 THE LONDON LIBRARY MAGAZINE
to this day, namely that Hay ‘is a Woodstock for the mind’. Aside from the extraordinary moments and exceptional talent that it showcases, the Hay Festival has proved responsible for the discovery and championing of new writers. Many authors who have since become household names made their first major public debuts at Hay: Arundhati Roy, DBC Pierre and Yann Martel to name but a few. ‘Audiences found them here and spread the word,’ notes Florence. Today, Hay is more than just a literary festival. Some of the world’s leading entertainers have appeared here, with musical visitors including Sting, Van Morrison and Sir Paul McCartney; talks from artists such as Antony Gormley; and comedians including Dylan Moran and Welsh hero, Rob Brydon. In a bid to make arts and culture accessible to all, during the main Summer Festival, Hay offers ‘Hay Fever’, a dedicated programme of 100 events for children and families. For the latest information about the 2010 Festival, which takes place from 27 May to 6 June, visit hayfestival.com.