At Nottingham's first ever Festival of Words there will be a diverse range
of author talks and readings, children's events, panels, workshops and
activities involving words in one form or another. Taking its inspiration from
Nottingham's lace industry, an important thread in the city's heritage, the
festival complements the Lace Season events occurring throughout the city.
A programme outlining all
events, which run from 9th-24th Feb 2013, with details of how to book can be viewed and downloaded at:
http://nottwords.org.uk/
I have been fantastically fortunate to have been selected to present an hour session on Sat 16th Feb which I am calling 'Climbing Through Life'. It will begin at 4pm. I’m intending to read relevant excerpts from While Giants Sleep and other pieces to develop the themes of climbing and long distance walking as metaphors for some of the big challenges that life throws at us all. And by challenges, I don’t just mean physical ones, the arduous or the risky, but also events like growing up and growing old, adult relationships and those between parents and children, living fully and living well.
Hopefully, the content of the pieces will be interesting enough to enable them to stand alone. But I also hope to engage the audience in discussion about the types of metaphors they themselves draw upon when considering life’s challenges. And these challenges need not necessarily involve getting one’s boots on. Caring for an elderly relative could, for example, provide as equally a striking example of application and persistence as an arduous alpine trek.
I have been given a superb
opportunity by Elaine Aldred to develop these themes and talk more generally
about my writing on her excellent blog:
http://strangealliances.wordpress.com/
If you visit Elaine's blog you will be able to read interviews with a range of writers who will be appearing at the Festival and so get a much more detailed idea of the wide range on offer.
