MEETING MARINA WARNER AND MAGGI HAMBLING AT COLCHESTER

From the first public ‘outing’ of award-winning writer and cultural mythographer Marina Warner’s new book Sanctuary, to one of Britain’s leading contemporary artists Maggi Hambling talking all things art, Colchester is the place to be this weekend.

First up, is our special day Spirits, Salons & Sanctuary, which will be taking place this Saturday in one of Colchester’s oldest sites of sanctuary, St Leonard-at-the-Hythe Church.

Sanctuary is an ancient right. But what does it mean today? Drawing on a lifetime of engagement with literature, myth, history and tradition from different cultures, Marina Warner’s new book Sanctuary is an ambitious attempt to grapple with the sharpest questions that we are facing in today’s world of global turmoil.

Marina will be joined by two other writers at St Leonard’s. These include poet/novelist Philip Terry who will be discussing Dante’s Purgatorio, the sequel to his Dante’s Inferno (2014). Set on Mersea Island with the unlikely backdrop of an Essex ‘Alp’ hewn out of Flexible Rock Substitute, and an even more unlikely cast of characters that includes Grayson Perry, Rachela Whiteread, Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage, expect the unexpected in this inspired reimagining of ‘Purgatoria’.

Followed by poet/novelist writer Clare Pollard who will be talking to fellow writer Holly Pester about her latest novel The Modern Fairies, which has just been awarded the inaugural Tadeusz Bradecki Prize for its ‘history and magic, novelistic depth and sharpness of fable’.

Sunday takes us to The Minories for a feast of authors, artists, workshops, and storytelling. Events include Tony Peake talking about his biography of his old friend Derek Jarman, and Maggi Hambling chatting to art critic and novelist James Cahill about his latest novel The Violet Hour that has been described by Stephen Fry as ‘the best novel I have read for ages … masterly’.

The Minories Garden, meanwhile, will be jam-packed with storytellers, including BBC Essex’s Rob Jelly, who will be reading Spike Milligan’s BadJelly the Witch, and a variety of drop-in workshops including traditional ink-making and eco-printing with artist Zoe Martin, Twinkle Twinkle willow star weaving with master weaver and storyteller Glenys Newton, spice-painting with artist Lora Aziz, and more. The excellent news is that it’s all free!