Diss Corn Hall and Waveney & Blyth Arts present
PATRICK BARKHAM ON ROGER DEAKIN
Friday 16 June 7.30pm
Venue: The Corn Hall
Roger Deakin wrote the nature writing classics Waterlog and Wildwood. But before he painstakingly restored his ancient farmhouse on the edge of Mellis common in Suffolk, he was also a maverick ad-man and seller of stripped-pine furniture. Later he became an inspirational teacher, filmmaker, music promoter and eco-warrior. Today, he lives on as the patron saint of wild swimming.
Patrick Barkham brings alive this great romantic in an illustrated talk and tells stories of Roger and his generation – arguably the most distinctive that ever lived.
Patrick Barkham is an award-winning author and natural history writer for the Guardian. His books include The Butterfly Isles, Badgerlands, Islander and Wild Child. He is President of Norfolk Wildlife Trust and lives in Norfolk with his family.
The Swimmer, Patrick’s eagerly anticipated biography of Roger Deakin will be published on May 25.
Approx 1hr incl Q&A. There will be a book signing at the end of the event.
ROGER DEAKIN’S TV DOCUMENTARIES
Wednesday 14 June 10.30am & 7.30pm
A rare chance to see three of Roger Deakins’ delightful documentaries which he made for Anglia TV.
The Swimmer
The Cut, Halesworth, 7.30, 5 July.
Screenplay by Eleanor Perry
Directed by Frank Perry
Starring Burt Lancaster, Janice Rule, Kim Hunter and Joan Rivers
The 1964 story, the 1968 movie, the 1999 book, the 2023 biography…
Patrick Barkham’s new biography of wild swimmer, environmentalist and author Roger Deakin shares its title with the John Cheever short story and subsequent movie. Roger Deakin was partly inspired by the tale to write his first book, Waterlog – a huge success, and a spur for the wild swimming movement.
This unsettling 1968 film has Burt Lancaster swimming home through his neighbours’ pools in Westport, Connecticut. As he meets people from his past – friends and lovers – the adventure turns dark. A surreal shattering of the American dream, it had a mixed reception in 1968, now it has cult status: five-star ratings from critics. ‘Disturbing, sometimes funny… an open-ended hallucination.’
The screening is a joint presentation with Waveney & Blyth Arts and the Halesworth bookshop. There will be a short introduction and copies of Patrick Barkham’s new biography, The Swimmer: The wild life of Roger Deakin will be on sale