A fest of literature

I have had a hugely busy weekend, happy as a pig in muck, wallowing in books and writing and listening to a multitude of writers talking about their lives, work, interests, and, of course, their books.  The third Gibraltar Literary Festival took place this weekend just gone (12th to 15th November 2015) and now that the dust is settling and I have started to get some sleep again, I wanted to reflect on the event overall.

That as a literary festival it was a success cannot be denied.  Gibraltar was full to bursting with the literati, and with those who either enjoy this type of event or were particularly interested in the well-known speakers.  There were dinners, demos by cookery writers, serious talks, light-hearted talks, interviews with local writers, a multi-denominational service and a posh, I daresay, affair at the Governor's Palace involving fine dining.

Asked by Mum on the Rock, the website to which I contribute regular features, to attend some of the events on a press pass, I eagerly set out, notebook in hand.  There were quite a number of events, some running concurrently and I know I missed out on some I would have liked to have seen.  But I guess that is always the secret of a successful event: to leave people wanting it not to end.

Click below to visit and browse, a variety of features and information, it is well worth a visit, whether you're a mum, dad, uncle, aunt, granny, grandad.........on Gibraltar or anywhere in the world:

Mum on the Rock


I would be hard put to identify my favourite event or my favourite speaker.  Dame Esther Rantzen, a consummate professional, a wonderful raconteuse with a ready wit did not disappoint and the hour I spent listening to her speaking of her days at the BBC, her work with Childline and more recently with Silverline, sped past leaving me in greater admiration of her than I already was - and she has always been a favourite celeb of mine.

Photograph courtesy of Government of Gibraltar via www.mumontherock.com

On a more serious note, my festival opened with Dan Jones' talk on the Magna Carta and its legacy, touching on his other works and of particular interest to me, because I like the more grimy realism of social history, his latest book on a year in the life of Plantagenet England.  Discussing one of my favourite periods in English history, Jones sat in a wooden chair in the King's Chapel facing the congregation and under the watchful eye of some glorious king frowning down on him from his stained glass grandeur daring him to talk dark things of his predecessor, bad King John, or even talk of the revolt of the people, or rather, the barons - the only people powerful enough to stand up to the king.  Dry though medieval history can appear to some, with Paul Blezard's skilled steering, Jones took a candle to the dark pages of history and illuminated them in such an entertaining way I bought two of his books and asked him to sign them before I hurried on to the next event and venue.  A charming writer, Jones let me in on the fact that his inspiration for this period in history were his wonderful tutors at Cambridge.  In contrast, I think my fascination started in the vaulted aisles of Canterbury Cathedral on many a school trip; I went to school in Kent and Canterbury must have been an easy reach for history teachers.

Dan Jones' Magna Carta

That same afternoon, I returned to the King's Chapel twice more.  It is a beautiful, historic little building, and a rather nice venue, were it not for the poor acoustics.  Organisers please note:  even those of us that are not hard of hearing struggled from time to time to understand the wonderful words of John Carlin about Nelson Mandela and of James Harkin about niche products in the corporate worlds and the breakdown of the mainstream in the world of politics.

John Carlin gave an entertaining, and entirely inspiring talk about Nelson Mandela the man.  I had expected a dry recounting of what, when, where, with possibly a few who's and a why or two thrown in.  But instead I was entertained with a number of anecdotes and a general recounting of Carlin's meetings with Mandela and what he made of this great leader.  A quiet, respectful man of integrity, vision, focus and ultimate humanity is the impression I came away with, and I think perhaps some of that might have rubbed off on Carlin because his talk was touched sublimely with a degree of humility, which is how I imagine I would feel were I ever to have had the privilege of meeting Mandela.

John Carlin's Knowing Mandela

James Harkin I have to say I knew nothing about (sorry James), but I was on  press pass for Mum on the Rock, so I sat quietly with the intention of giving the talk my full attention.  Actually, the hour or so flew by and I was fascinated.  So much so that although I couldn't hang around to buy the books, I absolutely will buy them.  While I was interested in the whole idea of niche markets and specialisms beating the giant corporates, I found myself far more fascinated in the idea of the breakdown of the mainstream in terms of politics and what this might mean to society.  He also spoke about how this might colour the world's response to acts of violence from extremists, also fascinating.  Hours later, Paris exploded with horrifying casualties.  I must read Harkin thoroughly.  I understand he spoke on Saturday morning about the Arab Spring.  I wish I could have gone, but I am glad to have learnt about his work and will track this down.

James Harkin's "Niche"

Of the local authors, I attended Alice Mascarenhas' interview with Humbert Hernandez.  Poet, dramatist, author and social activist, this former teacher talked in part about his writing and his inspiration, reciting two very powerful poems.  The first was a reaction to what the press terms the migrant crisis, and what I can only call the crisis for migrants.  It painted a picture of the floating body of a drowned child and reminded listeners that those innocent deaths must surely be on all our consciences as we (read Europe) try to avoid taking a stance.  The second was so moving; it told of a woman stoned for the apparent sin of being raped, the final stone of a savage sentence thrown by her own father.  It was a harsh and angry poem, not sparing any sensitivities.  Cruelty and needless death cannot be painted over in watercolours, but can only be stained by blood.  A preface to the horrors on my TV screen later that night.

Of course, the largely local audience wanted to talk about Humbert's role in the abolition of conscription in 1971 Gibraltar, an issue of human rights as well as of having to take to civil disobedience in order to claim that right.  His book goes into the story, his talk went into the human aspect of this, into his thoughts and feelings at the time, his fears and the legacy of the event.

On a much-needed lighter note for Saturday, the day and in fact my part in the event was wrapped up for me in a gloriously hilarious hour with the utterly irreverent Marcus Brigstocke talking about his life, his career and about god, or gods, or religion and non-religion.  Again, I bought the book and he very charmingly held a signing session, agreed to photos with members of the audience (these youngsters are good with the whole selfie phenomenon, aren't they?).

Marcus Brigstocke's website:

http://www.marcusbrigstocke.com

Marcus Brighstocke's God Collar

There were more events on Sunday, although I could not attend these and I have to assume that the holding of "Just a Minute" by Nicolas Parsons with Esther Rantzen, Miles Jupp, Marcus Brigstocke and Maureen Lipman must have been brilliant (I shall put feelers out this week and find out).

With several events for school children, such as the Magna Carta being presented by the absolutely brilliant Christopher Lloyd, the Gibraltar Literary Festival has been yet another success.  Are there things they can do to improve?  Well, of course there are, and if anyone in the Department of Culture or the even organisers are reading, here, for what they are worth are my thoughts:

• Better audio helps.  
• There could be more work with the local bookshops - ah, ok, there's only one bookshop and there's hardly floor space to browse and breathe at the same time, so one to work on.  Perhaps "pop up bookshops" around the town over the four days would help.  Yes, I know they were selling books at various events, but don't wait for people to come to you, go to the people.  Random appearances and signings would have gone down well with the public - us Gibraltarians are a naturally nosy bunch and I'm sure  they would have been well-attended.
• Think about the level - is it pitched at a largely middle class English audience?  Yes, I know there were some "overseas" authors, and a couple of local authors, but I'm not convinced the local literary scene was fully represented, and I'm not sure that people who have not attended UK universities and might not feel totally comfortable in grand or intellectual surroundings would have felt this was something they could take part in readily.  But then, I'm not entirely sure the Literary Festival is about communities engaging with literature in its broadest sense.  Time to start a Fringe Festival of Words, methinks!
• More workshops.  Where would readers be without writers.  There were two workshops this year which I think is great - more please!

What did you think of the Gibraltar Literary Festival?  Answers in the comment box please, or let me have your thoughts via my Facebook page or Twitter accounts: I really am interested, especially if you too want to have a Fringe Festival of Words!

And on a final point, for those of you wanting to support a threadbare local writer:

Jackie Anderson's The Dark Closes In