Booker prize winner Ben Okri, pictured left, launches his first collection of poetry in more than a decade at this year’s Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival. Okri will read from his new collection, Wild, and the launch will be followed by a drinks reception.

The poems range widely across many subjects. Some are autobiographical and some are philosophical. They treat subjects as diverse as war, love, nature and the difficulty of truly seeing. For Okri, ‘wild’ is an alternative to the familiar, ‘where energy meets freedom, where chaos can be honed’.

Also added to this year’s line-up is former MP, Cabinet Minister and Labour party chairman Tony Benn. He will be joined by Tottenham MP David Lammy, author of Out of the Ashes: Britain after the Riots, and by Mary Riddell, columnist and political interviewer for the Daily Telegraph, for a discussion on last summer’s riots.

Meanwhile, Walter Isaacson, pictured below right, is coming over from the United States to talk about his acclaimed biography of Steve Jobs, the man who gave us the Apple computer, the iPhone and the iPad.

Other authors newly added to the line-up include Jonathan Freedland aka Sam Bourne on his new novel Pantheon, Kathy Lette on The Boy Who Fell to Earth and Donna Leon on a life of crime writing.

Food-related events include Joanne Harris and Donnal Leon on food in fiction, and Blur bassist Alex James and FoodLovers Britain founder Henrietta Green on ‘British Cheese: The Young Pretenders’.

And Sister Wendy Beckett will introduce a new BBC documentary looking back at her life.

The popular festival carvery lunches are now available to book as are the literary walks.

 

 

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