(This research was for my work placement at Stranger Collective, some of which was used in a Port Eliot Festival newsletter which can be read here.)
This week we have interviewed Magnum photographer, Martin Parr, who will be attending Port Eliot in the basement of the main House with his rolling exhibition this year. When Parr’s not in the event line-up himself, or simply at the festival for his own pleasure, he is the author of almost 50 books and has been featured in more than 80 exhibitions worldwide. Over the four days of the festival, Parr will be capturing the on-goings of Port Eliot with his magnificent photography, which will be showcased in ‘The Pleasures of the Immediate’ exhibition consisting of around fifty constantly updating and evolving photographs. This is a unique experience for Port Eliot, and also for you to feature in one of his photographs, which you will then be able to take home at the end of the day. Read his interview here for more information on this extraordinary event.
Whilst Martin Parr is offering these unique photographs of Port Eliot Festival in motion, The Poetry Takeaway are giving out personalised poems from their poetry emporium. Tim Clare, Molly Naylor, John Osborne and Hannah Walker are some of the UK’s finest poetry performers. Staffing their poetry-on-wheels van, they are serving up free poems for those starving for a bit of literature during this year’s festival. Luke Wright is usually part of the made-to-order service as well but he’ll be busy performing for us on the Authors stage. Maybe he’ll pop by and write a few poems though.
Caught By The River’s Tales From The Typographic Ocean event is a rock’n’roll-fuelled discussion with influential figures, Rough Trade boss, Geoff Travis, legendary PR man, Mick Houghton, and former editor of ZigZag magazine, Andy Childs. They talk to journalist and broadcaster Emma Warren about the birth of Xerox publishing and fanzine culture’s effect on music.
Talking of typography, journalist and non-fiction writer, Simon Garfield, will be asking festival-goers to undergo a personality test at this years festival with ‘What’s My Type?’ to find their matching typeface. What do you think yours will be? A trendy Comic Sans, or a typical Times New Roman?
Authors Hanif Kureishi and Hari Kunzru and philosopher AC Grayling featured in The Guardian’s ‘Britain’s top 300 intellectuals’ list of public figures leading our cultural discourse this month. And Port Eliot has them all.
This week’s MP3 giveaway in the series is from the “rare and prodigious talent” (The Guardian) that is Caitlin Rose with the track ‘Shanghai Cigarettes’ from her latest album which you can download here.
Also, those who saw Wilfredo’s hit performance last year will be pleased to hear that he will be returning to Port Eliot’s line-up again this year, singing classic covers, original songs and parody that will leave you “having spent the evening roaring with laughter” (Camden New Journal).
