CHARLOTTE BREWER – on the OED,
the Treasure-House of the Language

How do words get into dictionaries? Who decides? What is the role of a dictionary editor? Do dictionaries make language laws, or reflect them? How many words are there in the OED? Does any one person know the meanings of all of them? What happened in Babel?

The Oxford English Dictionary is everywhere recognized as a comprehensive authority on the history of English from 1150 to the present day. It is used in order to find out more about words and their meanings. Completed in 1928, the 12-volume Oxford English Dictionary took four decades to compile and edit. It has subsequently grown to 20 volumes.

Charlotte Brewer, a member of the English Faculty at the University of Oxford, has written an elegant account of its evolution, during which time its workers have had to assimilate a world whose technology and vocabulary have grown exponentially. Their task is an onerous one! How do they do it?

EDWARD MARSTON – on writing crime, history, and adventure!

Robber barons, Elizabethan actors, Restoration rakes, Victorian villains, Edwardian adventurers, or even skullduggery and corruption in the world of professional golf: all of these can be found in the novels of Edward Marston, aka Keith Miles, or Conrad Allen.

And that’s not all. Edward Marston has also worked as an actor and director, taught drama in prison, been an editor at the Pinewood film studios, and written over forty original plays for theatre, radio, and television.

His latest book is Soldier of Fortune featuring Daniel Rawson, soldier, spy, linguist, and ladies’ man. He has tales to tell, as does his creator!

THE STATE versus NELSON MANDELA – with Lord JOEL JOFFE

On 11 July 1963 Liliesleaf Farm at Rivonia near Johannesburg was raided and alleged high-ranking members of the African National Congress were arrested. With Nelson Mandela, they were put on trial, charged with conspiring to overthrow the apartheid government by violent revolution. Their expected punishment was death.

Their defence attorney was human rights lawyer Joel Joffe, now a crossbench peer in the House of Lords. He has now written a book which gives a full account of the most important trial in the history of South Africa. It is an account both of rampant discrimination and remarkable courage.

Note: This event will also include African songs from Swindon Scratch Choir’s InVoice.

BEN OKRI – on life on earth, and among the stars

Where do stories come from? Who told you your most memorable story? What do made-up stories tell us about real life? What are the universal elements of love and regeneration?

Born in Nigeria, author of numerous prize-winning novels translated into more than 20 languages, collections of poetry, and essays, Ben Okri OBE has broken a silence of five years with his new novel, Starbook, the story he has waited a lifetime to write. Magical and rich in its narrative, here is a novel that can be read at many levels, addressing questions of love, loss, suffering, beauty, and fulfilment, on one continent and universally.