Wednesday 10th June 7.30 p.m.

ACOUSTIC MUSIC NIGHT WITH SINGER-SONGWRITERS JASON McNIFF AND MOSTAR DIVING CLUB

JASON McNIFF

London-based singer-songwriter Jason McNiff is hailed by Mojo magazine as one of the UK's best kept secrets. He started recording in the early 00s, but he has a sound that harks back to the great folk rock troubadours of the late 60s/early 70s. Influenced by classic American songsmiths such as Tim Hardin, Townes Van Zandt and Bob Dylan, McNiff purveys thoughtful ballads full of carefully crafted imagery and emotional subtlety.

These qualities were present right from the start on McNiff's 2000 debut, Off The Rails, produced by Andy Allen of the Hank Dogs, and only developed further as he went along. The 2003 follow-up, Nobody's Son, continued in much the same spirit, and was voted Americana UK's album of the year. For all his skill at concocting strikingly evocative lyrics framed by simple-but-powerful acoustic guitar work, McNiff has also shown a noteworthy way with cover versions, turning the Beatles psychedelic volcano ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ into a Bert Jansch-like folk blues, and adapting the Italian tune ‘Bella Ciao’ to his own ends. In 2008, McNiff was anthologized on In My Time, which featured material from all three of his previous albums, along with a few newly recorded tracks to wet completists’ whistles.

www.myspace.com/jasonmcniff

MOSTAR DIVING CLUB

is the first solo project from the singer and songwriter of Obi, Damian Katkhuda. Published by Chrysalis, The Mostar Diving Club is an outlet for some of Damian's more quirky and unconventional tunes and songs, and a chance for him to experiment with different instruments, unusual arrangements and trademark melodies. The songs on his latest offering, Don Your Suit of Light were written in a woodland farmhouse in the south of France, isolated and tranquil, reflecting the mood of this charming debut solo album.

Amongst the many reviews praising Damian's work, the Times described his Obi albums as "keys to the kingdom of lovely... an almost flawless example of up and downbeat folk pop story telling". Mojo described The Magic Land of Radio as "utterly charming.... a melodic master-class", and Metro said Diceman Lopez had "a sense of dreamy transportation to somewhere else”, and that it was “a lovely work”. The name, "The Mostar Diving Club", is taken from a town in Bosnia, where his fathers family hail from. As a right of passage into adulthood, young men dive from an old bridge into a very shallow river below, a distance of some thirty metres – get it wrong and you are in serious trouble. Having made several trips to this part of the world both before and after the war he has met with the divers and seen them do their stuff. The album Don Your Suit of Lights will be out early next year.

www.myspace.com/themostardivingclub

Show 7.30–8.45 p.m.

Tickets £8 – available in advance or on the door

Thursday 11th June 7.00 p.m.

MURDER MYSTERY AND POIGNANCY IN SADEQ HEDAYAT

Sadeq Hedayat is recognized as the outstanding Persian writer of the twentieth century, the most important Iranian writer since Omar Khayyam. He is generally credited with having brought his country's language and literature into the mainstream of contemporary writing. Evocative, grotesque and occasionally disturbing, Hedayat's writing is a revelation, ranging in style from the Arabian nights to Kafka. Tony Rohr and Tamara Hinchco read extracts from his collection of short stories, Three Drops of Blood, and from his surreal and nightmarish novella The Blind Owl.

Thursday 18th June 7.00 p.m.

J.B. PRIESTLEY

Novelist, dramatist and broadcaster J.B. Priestley (1894–1984) was one of the most popular authors of his day. John Calder presents readings from The Good Companions, a high-spirited picaresque tale about a travelling theatre company, and Angel Pavement, an altogether darker and socially panoramic novel about the lives of a group of office workers in London. The readers are Virginia Byron and Jim McManus

Thursday 25th June 7.00 p.m.

NAKED BURROUGHS

Starring Michael David

The inimitable dry, satiric wit of William S. Burroughs is brought to life in a reading from his work covering such topics as the Word Virus, the Ugly Spirit, Love, Cats and Dinosaurs. Always original, always surprising, Burroughs makes you look at the world in new, and not always comforting, ways. But you may find yourself surprised by the tender, caring soul often lurking beneath the desiccated carapace. The evening will contain some pungent language.

Thursday 2nd July 7.00 p.m.

HUNTER S. THOMPSON – GONZO KITCHEN

Starring Michael David

Welcome to Owl Farm, Woody Creek, where “Doctor” Hunter S. Thompson is going to give one of his fabled Kitchen Readings, selecting some prime cuts of his own work to present a mixed platter of mayhem, mordant wit and forensic political insight. Listen to the verbal brilliance as he raves and rages about the death of the American dream, religion, Nixon… and swimming! In the course of the evening the Doctor will inevitably employ some very strong language, but always to hilarious effect.

Thursday 9th July 7.00 p.m.

THE PROSE AND POETRY OF RUDYARD KIPLING

Sometimes called the poet of Empire, Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) was nevertheless a deeply committed humanitarian writer who understood the essential values of all ethnicities. His popularity was unrivalled during his lifetime, and, in 1907, he was the first English writer to win the Nobel Prize. A brief introduction by John Calder is followed by a selection of his work read by actors from the Godot Company.

Tuesday 14th July 7.00 p.m.

THOMAS CRAINE – COMFORT BLANKET

Tom Craine is a thumb-sucker, an ex-choirboy, and the product of a bubble-wrapped childhood. Twenty-seven panicky years later, his debut show peeks cautiously at reassurance. From teddy bears to tradition, Tom examines the things we cling onto for comfort. No stone is left unturned, though he might ask you to check under it for earwigs first.

An award-winning writer (who has written for BBC3 and BBC2), and the creator and star of the new BBC Radio 2 comedy ‘The Sharp End’ (alongside Alistair McGowan).

“Tom Craine is the highlight of the show… and, in what is a rarer skill for a stand-up, Craine’s punchlines keep the audience on its toes” (Ed Fest)

“Tom Craine is one of the fastest rising comedians” (BBC)

Entry £6 / £4. Booking advisable.

Thursday 16th July 7.00 p.m.

THE NOVELS OF CLAUDE SIMON

Claude Simon (1913–2005), the only member of the post-war nouveau roman group of French novelists to win the Nobel Prize (1985), is a major writer who not only devised a post-Proustian way to demonstrate how the brain distorts time and memory with all its associations, but also wrote about war from the common soldier’s point of view with brilliant reality and philosophical overtones. John Calder introduces readings from the novels.

Tuesday 21st July 7.00 p.m.

TALL-LIGHTHOUSE and CALDER BOOKSHOP invite you to celebrate the pre-publication launch of a unique and exciting poetry collection:

WRONG HORSE HOME by DAVID CRYSTAL

"David Crystal has been writing great poetry for more than twenty years. It’s been a calling rather than a career. Like Ken Smith and Barry MacSweeney, he writes like no one but himself and his tough-minded humanity underpins the poems as they follow a surreal path through the real world." (Geoff Hattersley)

Please note that this is a free event.

WRONG HORSE HOME - David Crystal £8 ISBN 1-978-904551-66-9

For more information, visit www.tall-lighthouse.co.uk

Thursday 23rd July 7.00 p.m.

MARCEL PROUST AND THE RECLAIMING OF TIME

Proust’s (1871–1922) eight-volume novel À la recherche du temps perdu (known in English as In Search of Lost Time or Remembrance of Things Past) is one of the greatest achievements of the twentieth century. His selective memory emphasized the relative importance of some events over others during a lifetime, and his work celebrated the elasticity of time that this created. John Calder introduces the work and explains its importance. The readers include Virginia Byron.

Please note that the date of this event has changed.