This year, beginning on 23 May, the annual How The Light Gets In festival returns to Hay-on-Wye, once again providing audiences with the chance to engage with life’s big questions: Why are we here? What is love? Do we need religion? Do we undervalue the imagination?
All these ideas and many more will be pondered and pursued over the course of the festival, interwoven with music and comedy acts. The New Statesman’s own Jonathan Derbyshire will be appearing, chairing debates on topics such as “Is Religion Dangerous?” and “Errors, Lies and Adventure”, an exploration of the need to lie in politics.
Here are five highlights from this year’s festival.
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly
10pm Fri 24 May, International Hall
The born-and-bred Essex boy Sam Duckworth has always been outspoken about his political views. Whether he’s crooning about the everyday rigmarole of British life or humming his anti-BNP ballad Glass Houses, you can guarantee he’ll have you nodding along to his unique acoustic drawl.
More Than Equal
(featuring George Galloway MP, Minette Marrin and Peter Tatchell)
2:30pm Mon 27 May, Globe Hall
With liberal attitudes towards ethnic minorities at an all-time high, are identity politics irrelevant? Or are etnic minorities simply assimilating into society, when they should be demanding more from Britain? Bradford MP George Galloway, Sunday Times Columnist Minette Marrin and activist Peter Tatchell discuss what the future holds for the smaller social groups in our society.
The Sexualisation of Society
(featuring Diane Abbot MP)
3pm Mon 27 May, Ring
As questions loom over the legality of internet pornography and stories about women suffering eating disorders have become a mainstay of the tabloids, Diane Abbot takes aim at the hyper-sexualised world in which we live and its effects on the young.
At World’s Edge
(featuring A S Byatt, Terry Eagleton and Terry Pratchett)
4pm Sunday 2 June, International Tent
Fantasy tales are often seen as amusing pastimes, whimsical adventures to be forgotten when the pages are shut. But is there more significance to these stories? Could they be a key element in the perception of our own world? To discuss these matters, novelists Terry Pratchett and A S Byatt join literary theorist Terry Eagleton.
The End of the University?
(featuring Martin Bean, Leonidas Donskis, Maurice Fraser)
12pm Sunday 2 June, International Tent
The internet has changed everything; from shutting down video rental stores to flipping the music industry on its head, no-one can deny its reach. But with the ever-growing number of learning resources available, free of charge, how can modern universities compete and, eventually, will they be outmoded? Open University Vice-Chancellor Martin Bean, LSE political theorist Maurice Fraser and Lithuanian politician Leonidas Donskis think about what the future holds.
How The Light Gets In runs from Thursday 23 May to Sunday 2 June.
For full details of events and tickets, click here.
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