Books / Festivals
LitFest to ‘bring the buzz to Clifton’
The chair of Clifton LitFest has praised her small team of volunteers as they prepare for the sixth annual festival.
Seventy speakers will be taking part in 50 different events from November 14 to 16.
Festivalgoers can enjoy appearances from acclaimed photographer Martin Parr, former Green Party MP Caroline Lucas and broadcaster Kate Humble; find out about Jane Austen’s Clifton, funerals and the golden age of steam; as well as take part in workshops and debates, and enjoy live music.
is needed now More than ever
“It’s an ambitious task for a group of volunteers but we’re punching well above our weight for this small little community,” said Clifton LitFest chair Paula O’Rourke on a recent afternoon, enjoying an al fresco coffee on Princess Victoria Street, a project she helped bring to fruition as one of Clifton’s two Green Party councillors.
“I think this year what I have learned is that we may still be very humble but we have realised that we can attract more people than we thought we could…
“We’re looking for breath and looking for diversity of topic, because we want to offer our audience something that will suit everybody.
“I feel that people want to come and be stimulated, to flex their cerebral cortexes… I think people are hungering for being in groups, somewhere they can debate and discuss in a way that’s safe and not polarised.”
Dublin-born Paula O’Rourke was lord mayor of Bristol from 2022 to 2023 – photo: Frances Tolson
Paula added: “Some of the things I remember most about previous years is the buzz that it brings to Clifton.
“There’s something wonderful about having two days where you see lots of people walking around, carrying books, being energized, going to events, then coming out, talking to people.
“It’s part of building communities. We have to do things to bring people together, especially the way things are going at the moment.
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Paula says she had a huge amount of support from her fellow volunteers but has also put her own stamp on proceedings with a fair amount of politics.
Clifton LitFest raises money for the Friends of Clifton Centre & Library and for Paula, this is one of the reasons for its popularity.
“I think somehow or other, we can just attract people to come because it’s for the libraries and that’s what people want to do.
“People aren’t doing it for the money. They’re coming here because there is this attitude that we have to save our libraries.
“Between the First World War and the Second World War a lot of people used to go to their local libraries to borrow a picture to hang on the wall above their mantelpiece or something.
“Because they couldn’t afford to buy pictures or paintings, they’d borrow them from libraries.
“That was the need then and there continues to be the need for libraries changes.
“And although people may not now need to go to a library to borrow books because they can buy them or they can download them, the need has changed.
“Now we need libraries to be places for social interaction.
“And I think that’s why the Literary Festival is so important, because it brings people together and that is extraordinary.”
CliftonLitFest 2025 takes place from November 14-16. For more information, visit www.foccal.com/litfest
Main photo: Clifton LitFest
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