Toni Morrison - Hay Festival

She’s won a Nobel Prize, a Pulitzer and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, but despite these accolades, legendary writer Toni Morrison rarely takes a public platform. So it will be a very lucky audience at this year's Hay Festival who will have the chance to hear Morrison’s thoughts on jazz, America, and her writing career.

From a literary perspective Morrison offers a depth of experience and expertise. Her unique voice is characterised in the citation of her Nobel Prize as combining ‘visionary force and poetic import’ and giving ‘life to an essential aspect of American reality’. The 83-year-old Black American has described her whole life as 'either reading books, teaching books, editing books or writing books.’ In addition to the vital role she has played in the renaissance of black literature, however, Morrison is keenly involved with contemporary politics and is a discerning jazz fan. The broad scope of topics promises a lively dialogue from a truly captivating writer.  

Hay Festival, set in Brecon Beacons National Park, in Wales, has been dubbed 'the Woodstock of the mind' by Bill Clinton. This year it runs from 22 May to 1 June. Other big names in the line-up include Stephen Fry, Judi Dench, Joan Bakewell, Julia Donaldson, Jennifer Saunders, Francesca Simon, and Jacqueline Wilson. Tickets are available for these events now, so hurry.