Provocative talks, inspiring debates and incredible ideas – Essex Book Festival in March will be a thrilling mix of comedy, poetry, theatre, films, readings and discussions.
Metamorphosis is the festival theme and this year also marks the launch of two festival strands including a Human Rights strand to be launched by Director of Liberty and our Chancellor Shami Chakrabarti at 2.30pm on Sunday 1 March at The Forum Southend-on-Sea.
Ros Green, who just completed her PhD in the Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies, is Director of the Festival and our academics, students and alumni are all involved in events throughout the month.
As it is our 50th anniversary we’ll also be celebrating our history with Out of Essex: Poetry on Saturday 7 March and Out of Essex: Theatre on Sunday 8 March, two days hosted by the Lakeside Theatre devoted to the work created and still being developed at the University.
Ros said: “We’re delighted to be playing our part in the University of Essex’s 50th birthday celebrations. A lot has happened at Wivenhoe Park over the last 50 years, not least of all the nourishing and nurturing of a plethora of poets, writers and filmmakers. Man Booker Prize winner Ben Okri springs to mind instantly, as do novelist Irvine Welsh, playwright Nick Dear and poet Tom Raworth.”
Events linked to the University include:
2.30pm, Sunday 1 March – Director of Liberty and our Chancellor Shami Chakrabarti, The Forum Southend-on-Sea
7pm, Monday 2 March – Annual Burrows Lecture: Shopgirls, Professor Pam Cox, The Forum Southend-on-Sea, Southend Campus
7pm, Tuesday 3 March – Thirst, Kerry Hudson, Art Exchange, Colchester Campus
6.30pm, Thursday 5 March – Patrician Press, readings by Professor Philip Terry, Emma Kittle-Pey, Mark Brayley and Patricia Borlenghi. The Press was established by Patricia after completing her MA Creative Writing at Essex. Wivenhoe Bookshop, High Street, Wivenhoe.
7pm, Friday 6 March – The Edge of Extinction, Professor Jules Pretty, Lakeside Theatre, Colchester Campus
10.30am to 8pm, Saturday 7 March – Out of Essex: Poetry. Celebrating 50 years of poetry at the University of Essex, Lakeside Theatre
10.30am to 4.30pm, Sunday 8 March – Out of Essex: Theatre. Celebrating 50 years of theatre at the University of Essex, Lakeside Theatre
7pm, Tuesday 10 March – Cinema of the Darkside, Dr Shohini Chaudhuri, LTB10, Colchester Campus
7pm, Wednesday 11 March – Trades, Myths and Edgelands, Rachel Lichtenstein, Art Exchange, Colchester Campus
7pm, Thursday 12 March – Southend Poetry Group, The Forum Southend-on-Sea, Southend Campus.
3pm, Sunday 15 March – War Requiem and Aftermath, Maggi Hambling, The Forum Southend-on-Sea, Southend Campus
6pm, Monday 16 March – Professorial Inaugural Lecture: Home: Notes on Literature, Professor Sanja Bahun, Lakeside Theatre, Colchester Campus
7pm, Tuesday 17 March – Poetry, Performance and Text, Holly Pester, Art Exchange, Colchester Campus
7pm, Friday 20 March – Bobby Moore: The Main in Full, Matt Dickinson, The Forum Southend-on-Sea, Southend Campus
10.30am to 4.30pm, Saturday 21 March – premiere of short films by students at the University of Essex, panel discussion and screening of Adaptation. The Waiting Rooms, Colchester.
10am to 4pm, Saturday 28 March – Local Authors’ Day, The Forum Southend-on-Sea, Southend Campus
7pm, Saturday 28 March – Colchester Reverend Rebels: Skiffle, Revolution, Protest and ‘Folk Music with a Jazz Beat’, The Ballad of Brian Bird and John Ball by Professor Adrian May. The Minories, Colchester.
To find out more go to the Essex Book Festival website.