Literature festivals and talks (May 2010)

Living in one of the most culturally rich cities in the world, I rarely run of events to attend. In the past 2 weeks, different literature festivals and talks took place across London and I attended three of them:

At Asia House Festival of Asian Literature, I attended a talk given by Michael Booth, author of 'Sushi and Beyond: What the Japanese Know About Cooking'. I had never been to talks at Asia House before and so didn't know what to expect.

First impression: Waited in the reception area for about 5 mins, the talk started soon after people were seated.

Vibe: Sophisticated but unpretentious.

Crowd: Mixed in terms of age, sex and race... mostly foodies including well-known restaurant critic, Jay Rayner. Not only did I bump into 2 friends there, I also chatted to many who were very friendly.

Content: Very interesting... Booth was clearly very passionate about Japanese cuisine and even the Japanese lady I spoke with (who works for Japan times) was impressed by his knowledge.

Pros: Free sushi after the talk... great idea! Friendly staff, pleasant ambience and great way to socialise and meet like-minded people.

Cons: Too short... the talk with Q & A lasted only about an hour which was quite disappointing!


At Conway Hall, a School of life sermon/ talk called 'Uncertainty' was given David Eagleman, the author of 'Sum: Forty tales of the afterlife'.

I have always wanted to attend the 'School of life' events because they all look very appealing. I once booked to attend a sermon but had to cancel at the last minute, so I was quite looking forward to this. Yet I left feeling disappointed...

First impression: Huge queue outside of the hall when I arrived but were slowly let in, however, since there were hundreds of people, it took quite a while for people to get seated.

Vibe: Relaxed, casual and fun

Crowd: Mostly under 45, fashion & image-conscious (i.e. some women had their shades on throughout the talk!) and the woman next to me was typing non-stop on her iphone, it just irritated me so much!

Content: Interesting enough but much shorter than advertised... Eagleman is a confident speaker/ neuroscientist who believes in an alternative way of living: 'possibilianism' which is beyond the ideas of atheism and religions. A short introduction to a complex and fundamental issue of our lives.

Pros: They really made an effort to created a fun atmosphere, encouraging people to sing and interact...

Cons: The talk was rather short and it was not easy to socialise when there were so many people around, it all became a bit chaotic at the end.


A night out with Fran Landesman part of The London literature festival at Southbank Centre

My friend invited me to this event and we didn't have much expectation since we had never heard of Fran Landesman before. Yet the night turned out to be quite a blast!

First impression & crowd: With only about 50% full and half of them over 50, we really didn't expect to last until 9pm!

Vibe: Subdued to begin with but gradually people warmed up and were cheering and clapping very loudly at the end.

Content: When Fran appeared on stage, my friend and I were shocked to realise she is an old lady (I guess the publicity photo misled us to think that she is younger). She was joined by longtime friends and collaborators Simon Wallace, Sarah Moule, Bob Dorough and Imelda Staunton who performed jazz music with lyrics written by her. However, the best moments were when Fran herself started singing her songs & reading her own poems. She is witty, sharp, cool, radiant and her poems/ songs are funny and surprisingly timeless esp. the hilarious 'Unforgivable' (her version of 'Unforgettable')

Pros: An unofficial jazz concert took place by the bar area after the event for free!

Cons: Not much...

A really enjoyable evening that transported us back in time accompanied by great music and laughter!