Twenty five years and still going strong

The late Yan Christensen, who passed away earlier this year and will be sadly missed at the International Festival in October, used to say, partly in jest, that we knew everything about Graham Greene except what he had for breakfast!

Well, Yan was wrong on that count – witness the line up for this year’s festival which can be found on the Festival 2024 page and the list of fresh topics which contributors will be bringing to this year’s gathering.

The Greene Birthplace Trust is very proud to call its festival International. In addition to the audience, there are always a number of speakers from overseas – and the 2024 Festival is no exception.

Julia G. Young of the Catholic University of America will talk about writers, including Greene, who flocked to Mexico in the interwar years drawn by the church-state conflict. In Greene’s case, of course, it resulted in his unforgettable novel The Power and the Glory.

Lo Dagerman from Sweden will speak about her mother, Anita Bjork, with whom Greene had an intense relationship in the 1950s and her father, the writer Stig Dagerman.

Randy Boyagoda (University of Toronto), a professor and novelist  will talk of the influence of Greene on his own work.

Motonori Sato, University of Keio, will introduce the audience to a renowned Japanese poet whose work was also influenced by the  author.

Daphna Erdinant-Vulcan, University of Haifa, will examine the blurring of lines between  autobiography and fiction particularly in relation to Greene’s Congo Diary.

The quarter century of festivals have included some well known public figures from many walks of life. Here is just a short selection of those who have come to Berkhamsted to share their thoughts and sometimes their memories of Graham Greene. In no order at all:

Roy Boulting – film director

John Mills – actor

Christopher Hampton – writer

Tim Waterstone – bookseller and businessman

John Mortimer – writer

Koo Stark – actor

William Boyd – writer

Libby Purvis – journalist and broadcaster

Michael Billington – journalist

Mike Brearley – cricketer

Kate Adie – broadcaster

Vince Cable – politician

Sarah Rainsford – broadcaster

Roy Hattersley – politician

… the list goes on.