Authors ~ Storytellers ~ Poets ~ Musicians ~ Acrobats
Discussions ~ Readings ~ Talks ~ Performances
#90B47E
TUESDAY 3rd MAY
NAOMI SHRAGAI – on The Man who Mistook his Job for his Life.
Arts Centre, Devizes Road SN1 4BJ
Tel 01793 535534 (11am to 6pm)
12.30pm ~ 3rd May ~ £8 (£7)
Why do happy children often end up as unhappy workers? What is the relationship between our professional present and our personal past? How do we feel about hierarchy and the person called boss? How do we measure success, our own or our colleagues’? How well do we navigate the complex emotional landscape of the workplace?
Naomi Shragai, who has written for The Times, The Guardian and Financial Times and been a stand-up comic, has more than thirty years’ experience as psychotherapist in both private practice and NHS hospitals.
SUE BIRLEY – on Travels with a Brompton.
Reading Room, Central Library, Regent Circus SN1 1QG
Tel 01793 535534 (11am to 6pm)
7pm ~ 3rd May ~ £6 (£5)
Moving slowly is one thing, and recently reckoned to be a good thing, but when there are vultures circling above you and you are told to keep moving in case they think you are dead… it’s quite another!
Who’d have thought a friendly folding bike could get you into this kind of ‘danger’! Actually, for the most part, the bike led to adventure, fun, and new friendships.
Proof reader, piano teacher, nurse, and now author, Sue Birley is an unwitting supporter of the ‘slow’ movement, about living each moment to its fullest. Sue has done so by pedalling many wine-fuelled miles, free-wheeling in France, and writing about it.
A. C. GRAYLING – on what we might do, For the Good of the World.
Arts Centre, Devizes Road SN1 4BJ
Tel 01793 535534 (11am to 6pm)
6.30pm ~ 3rd May ~ £9 (£8)
Can we human beings agree on a set of values that will allow us to confront the numerous threats facing the planet, or will we simply continue with our disagreements and antipathies as we collectively approach our possible extinction?
As every day brings new stories about lethal autonomous weapons systems, serious spyware, extreme weather conditions, and the health imbalance between the northern and southern hemispheres, a question that becomes ever more urgent is this one. Is global agreement on global challenges possible?
A. C. Grayling is the Founder and Principal of the New College of the Humanities and its Professor of Philosophy. Among his many books are The God Argument, Democracy and Its Crisis, The History of Philosophy, The Good State and The Frontiers of Knowledge.
JON ALEXANDER – on being a good citizen, or not.
Arts Centre, Devizes Road SN1 4BJ
Tel 01793 535534 (11am to 6pm)
8pm ~ 3rd May ~ £8 (£7)
What does it mean to be a good citizen? What does it feel like? Is it cool, or is it dutiful? How can we tell if we are, or not? Are we in danger of being more consumers than citizens? Is it inevitable that we reflect the times in which we live? Any other questions?
Yes. What is it like being caught up in a story in which you do not believe? Once upon a time, Jon Alexander was, flying high in the world of big brand advertising. But then he came down to earth. Now he is the author of Citizens – why the key to fixing everything is all of us, which both explains a few things about seduction by words and being a consumer; and suggests ways of reinventing our organisations and our politics in a way that equips us to face the challenges of our times, to survive, and even to thrive.
Photograph: Andy Galloway
