Live from Hotel Josef: Sunday

Sit downstairs with Guillaume Basset and Mollye Miller. Betty and Homero Aridjis arrive from Paris. Hannah Brooks-Motl arrives from Scotland. Sit briefly in the computer room and talk with a woman from London. Her name is Joanna Ball and she is with Gary Younge. I ask her to pass my greetings to Gary. She tells me that everyone calls her Jo. She is with Channel 4.

There are book signings today in Big Ben Bookshop. Margaret Atwood and Graeme Gibson at 14.00 and Paul Auster and Katerina Anghelaki-Rooke at 15.00. Graeme Gibson looks like Harrison Ford and/or Indiana Jones with his elegant hat

In the afternoon a heavy rain falls. Lara Woolstom, who is with Amnesty International in London and who was here helping the festival, is also here again this year. She runs into the lobby dripping wet with a fellow named Sebastian Lupak. He is from Gdansk and is with the Polish newspaper, Gazeta Wyborcza.

Another journalist covering the festival is Adrana Pitesa. She is with a newspaper in Zagreb. Tell her that I was just attending a conference in Ljubljana. Also mention the fact that I spent some time on the island of Dugi Otok (which means Long Island). She says it is her favorite island. Tell her that I pondered editing a guide book to Yugoslavia back in the late 80s.  But gave up the idea for a number of reasons. I did go on to edit a series for Canongate Books in Edinburgh that eventually became five books dealing with 10 Eastern European countries and Russia. These books were unlike any guide books ever; they contained only people one could meet. One thousand short biographies. The series won a prize, received rave reviews, but small sales. Still the few people who did use the books reported loving them and meeting lots of people in their travels. Some people even journeyed to Paris to take me out for a meal in order to introduce me to their spouse that resulted from using the guides.

The rain continues to fall. Hannah, Lara, Helena, Mollye organize taxis to take everyone to Theatre Minor for the opening evening event. Pavel Bem, the Mayor of Prague, and a firm supporter of the Prague Writers’ Festival, will officially open the Festival.

I am put into the back seat of a taxi. A couple is already there. The fellow is sitting in the front seat and a lady friend of his sits in the back with me. They non-stop chat away in Greek. Neither acknowledge my presence. When we arrive at the theatre, they exit quickly. I ask the driver if he needs to be paid. And he says yes. So I pay.

Inside the theatre encounter straight away Larissa Vergou. Tell her my strange Greek story. But she cannot guess who the couple might be. Larissa looks extremely lovely tonight. She will be giving the first Spiros Vergos Prize for Literature tonight to Natalia Gorbanevskaya.

Martin Belk is with Geraldine Sweeney and Jonathan Pryce and another fellow named Stefan Pearson. It seems Stefan also is involved with One Magazine. One of his early stories, it seems, was extremely controversial. (Note to myself: read it.)

Michael March is at the theatre door greeting arrivals. He asks me how I am enjoying myself and I report I am having a superb time. Go down to the cafe and order a coffee latte from one of the festival sponsors, mama & coffee. Get a large bowl and am not allowed to pay for it. But there is a tip bowl, so drop a bunch of coins in it. Sit in a corner and engage a lovely woman in conversation. She is from York, studied French and German at Edinburgh University and currently lives in Brussels. We have a good talk about Edinburgh. Tell her that I, too, studied at Edinburgh University, that I lived in that fabulous city for ten years, created a bookshop & gallery, co-founded the Traverse Theatre and co-organized the Writers’ Conference in 1962 (with John Calder and Sonia Orwell) and we had 75 writers from all over the world attending (including Henry Miller, Lawrence Durrell, Mary McCarthy, Norman Mailer, William Burroughs,  Angus Wilson, Alexander Trocchi, etc etc). We had another Conference in 1963 that caused a scandal and ended our series of conferences for the Edinburgh Festival. I tell her that I have never missed a Festival. She has a copy of today’s Observer and reports there are copies by the coat check. The Observer is a part of the Guardian group and therefore a sponsor of this Writers’ Festival. I excuse myself to get a copy. Discover that she also knows Gary Younge because he also studied languages in Edinburgh.

Spot an attractive woman with a Faber & Faber shoulder bag. Ask her if she is a Faber author and she is. Her name is Clare Wigfall and her novel, The Longest Sound and Nothing, was published last autumn. Tell her that I am a Faber author as well, that my autobiography, Thanks for Coming!, was published in 1984, that it caused a minor civil war inside Faber. She introduces me to her friend, Wendy Wrangham. Wendy is a free-lance journalist who happens to look like an actress I know in Paris, Natasha Cashman. Wendy was born in Calcutta, but left the city aged 5, so has no memories. I tell her it is one of my favorite cities in the world, that I am a Consultant to the Kolkata Film Festival (10 to 17 November). That I have been there the past two years and plan to be there every year for the foreseeable future.

Tonight’s events are about to start. Go inside and sit near Adrana Pitesa, the journalist from Zagreb. When the lights go out in the auditorium, notice she has a small light that enables her to take notes. A well-prepared journalist!

It is a delightful evening. I kick myself for not taking the head-phones that would have enabled me to hear the English translations of the Czech contributions. Talks from the mayor, from the host, Marek Eben and from Petr Kral, who is on the panel with Margaret Atwood, Paul Auster, and Michael McClure. But before we have this “1968” discussion, Larissa presents the award to Natalia Gorbanevskaya. Natalia protested the invasion of Prague in 1968 and for this was given a prison sentence.

The contributions from Margaret Atwood, Paul Auster, and Michael McClure are superb. Gary Younge is an excellent moderator. I am sorry that I did not have head phones for Petr Kral’s contributions. (Petr and I met some time ago in Paris when he attended one of my Sunday dinner parties. My dear friend, Ted Joans, who alas is no longer with us, suggested he attend.) It would take too long to repeat all that was said by everyone tonight.  I remember well the 60s, was in the middle of it all in London and Paris. I have strong feelings about the period. Life constantly changes. Slow change is called evolution; fast change is called revolution. The 60s were a period of fast change in so many areas of human experience. As Margaret Atwood pointed out, it was the beginning of the second period of women’s revolution. I was involved with sexual liberation and the fight against racism.

The Canadian Ambassador, Michael Calcott, announces that food and drink with be provided in the theatre to all. He invites everyone to join the writers and enjoy themselves with more conversations. What an amazing invitation! Thank you, tax-payers of Canada.

Go out and join the fantastic party. Get in a queue. Spot Betty Aridjis. And Homero Aridjis is with the Mexican Ambassador. See Paul and Dominique Kahn. They live in Paris and publish New Magazine.  Vlasta Brtnikova is standing near one of the chefs and tells him to fill my plate. Thank you, Vlasta.

Go up and sit near the Big Ben Book stall. A woman named Martina sits next to me and we have an interesting conversation. Wendy Wrangham joins us and I introduce them to each other. Then Hannah Brooks-Motl appears and she and I talk about Scotland. It has been a wonderful evening. Stimulating and provocative. Time maybe to head back to the Josef Hotel. Hannah calls a taxi for me. I offer a number of people rides, but no one is going to the hotel.

There is a round table in the lobby. Join it and sit between Gary Younge and Graeme Gibson. After a bit, slip away and go upstairs to my room. There is a large envelope on my bed with my name written on it. I recognize the hand-writing. Open the packet and it contains a book, The body grows dark together with the day, by Katerina Anghelaki-Rooke, published by Prague Writers' Festival & Vlasta Brtnikova Publishers. Thank you, Michael. Thank you, Vlasta.

Jim Haynes

http://www.jim-haynes.com