CAPUCHIN WRITER MAKES HAY

Julian Mitchell, author of The Undiscovered Country, which we reissued this summer, is appearing at the Hay Winter Festival on December 5th. Julian will be in conversation with Julia Gregson, winner of the 2009 Prince Maurice Prize for Romantic Fiction. Julian will be discussing the novel and his other work, and the Festival holds many other literary and other treasures in store.

My wife and I had a brief but enchanting holiday in the town one Easter, but narrowly missed the spring Festival itself (the second time I've achieved this feat) and I can certainly recommend Hay as a beautiful and magical pace for any lover of literature and landscape.



David

HAY FEVER

You will, being people possessed of sensitive literary antennae, have been aware of the recent and very thorough coverage of the Hay literature festival. Although I've visited Hay-on-Wye twice (once on a cycling holiday that involved a devious circular route from Hertfordshire to Wales and back, and once as a birthday treat supplied by my wife), I've never made it to the Festival itself, but intend to do so one of these years. While studying at that august and attractively environed temple of learning, UCW Aberystwyth, I also organised an English department outing to Hay-on-Wye, only to find that only three people went, two of whom came back totally unburdened by books (although one of those did buy some clothes).

I note, as they say, with interest that there is now an event which is an adjunct to the festival and has a philosophical theme, called How the Light gets in. The name is a quotation from a song by that supreme modern music lyricist, mystic and sage, Leonard Cohen, about whose prodigious talents and work I could wax lyrical for much more time than I have available and you probably have inclination to attend. The song in question is called "Anthem", from the album "The Future" and the full phrase is:

There is a crack, a crack, in everything,

That's how the light gets in.

David