London Lit Weekend 2014, King's Place

No need to head out to Hay-on-Wye or Port Elliot in search of your literary festival fix – after a successful first outing in 2013, the London Lit Weekend is back with a well-curated line-up of talks, comedy and music. Ranging from Woody Guthrie to the Yellow Peril, there’s something for any taste in this year’s thirteen events, all hosted in King’s Place behind King’s Cross station.

The festival opens on Friday evening with ‘diabolical libertarian’ Paul Hamilton, alter ego of comic Kevin Eldon. Stewart Lee sits in the interviewer’s chair. On Saturday afternoon, music fans are well served by concert pianist James Rhodes, followed by Nick Hayes on Woody Guthrie. Music scholar Greil Marcus will present his History of Rock ‘n’ Roll in Twelve Songs . Focusing on lesser-known tracks from the 50s to the 00s, he’ll connect their individual stories to that of rock music itself. The day ends with The Land of Lost Content, a celebration of A. E. Housman’s work featuring classic settings of his poems, popular music from the Great War and new songs written especially for the evening. 

Sunday’s line-up opens with talks from historian Judith Flanders, on the Victorian home and James Ward on the importance of stationary. Later, Sir Christopher Frayling expounds the history of Chinophobia, exploring nineteenth century popular culture as a route into understanding our hopes and fears. John Kampfner, author of Freedom for Sale, will speak on the economic elite, while Peter Conrad uses music, films and his own voluminous mind to discuss the Americanisation of Everywhere.  Finally, the weekend is brought to a close by Rebecca Goldstein, Plato scholar, in conversation with A. C. Grayling on the continuing relevance of philosophy.