Press Release: Events
Glastonbury Launches New Literary Strand
Posted at 7:05AM Tuesday 26 May 2009
The Free University of Glastonbury Glastonbury Festival launches a new literary strand for the first time this year. Called The Free University of Glastonbury it will feature some of the country's smartest thinkers and most talented authors discussing an extraordinarily eclectic range of subjects from maths to music, nature to non-conformism. The talks will take place every afternoon in the tropical splendour of HMS Sweet Charity in the Park area. Emily Eavis, who programmes the Park area, said, "The Free University looks like a dream for those seeking further education at the festival. Term lasts three days and you don't have to get in till lunchtime but the syllabus will provide all you need for the days ahead on Worthy Farm and beyond whilst no doubt being a lot of fun Even the maths!" The programme is being run by Mathew Clayton, former publisher of Cassell Illustrated who said, "The Free University will be enlightening and entertaining. A place that celebrates writers but is more than just people reading extracts from their last book. It is about people sharing the ideas, interests and inspirations that lie behind their work". The University will be opened by Michael Eavis at Midday on Friday 26th June. Contact: Mathew Clayton 07971 293 136 / mathewclayton@ymail.com The Free University 2009 lecture series includes: Tom Hodgkinson is the country's leading radical thinker his book How to be Free was a bestseller in the UK and translated in 20 different languages. His lecture Anarchy in the Middle Ages takes a historical slant on non-conformism. Tom's brother Will Hodgkinson, author of the Ballad of Britain will lecture on what constitutes modern day folk music. Alex Bellos is the author of a forthcoming history of mathmatics. His lecture the Tyranny of Ten explains the dozenalist movement and their aim to move our numerical system to be based around 12 instead of 10. Matthew De Abaitua's literary science fiction novel the Red Men was published in 2008. His lecture Portrait of the Artist as a Blithering Idiot will see him reading from the journals he kept when he was 20 and was pretty sure he was the next James Joyce. Gavin Pretor-Pinney wrote the bestselling Cloudspotter's Bible, in a talk entitled On Fire, he will be discussing the science, philosophy and cultural impact of fire. Robin Turner and Paul Moody, authors of the Rough Pub Guide have been searching for the perfect pub as described by George Orwellin his essay Moon Under the Water. The drinks are on them. Jay Griffiths traveled round the world for seven years before she wrote her highly acclaimed book Wild. The journey that inspired author Dan Kieran's book Three Men and a Float involved him driving round Britain in a milk float. They will be in conversation. Ben Moor's, short story collection More Trees to Climb has just been published. He will lecture on the extraordinary story of the Coelacanth a 400 million year old fish. Caught by the River is the cult angling and music blog whose anthology of writing about British rivers is published this June. John Niven is the author of Kill your Friends and the just published novel The Amateurs
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