Penguin 75

Two mighty foes, I have faced and conquered this month; I have read The Lord of The Rings, and I have navigated the Great Labyrinth of Foyles to its topmost floor (alas, I failed in my quest to find the toilets). Still, I grow in confidence day by day. Come! Rest a little, and hear of my adventures.

'Penguin Day' was the imaginatively-titled celebration of Penguin's 75th birthday at Foyles on Saturday 25th September. Featuring a variety of discussions and presentations, it kicked off with the recent Great Idea series that you and I have probably both softly pawed over in some bookshop or another, whether seriously interested in the content of the book or not. An impressively fluid discussion on the role of non-fiction then followed, which lives on my mind for the description of particularly florid biography as 'a higher drivel', a pejorative of rare beauty and distinction. I definitely had one celebrated biographer in mind when I heard that phrase, but the will to fairness in me reminds me that fiction is at least as much a perpetrator as non-fiction. In the afternoon, Rebecca Hunt talked with enthusiasm of her journey towards the publication of Mr Chartwell, a discussion that for some reason hinged as much on the cover design as the content. I mean, it's OK, I suppose...

David Vann's strangely self-deprecatory sense of wonder (am I really here? who are all these lovely people? Is this microphone for me?) was balanced by an amusing and oftentimes cynical Colm Toibin. With the exception of the sadly inevitable question 'do you think creative writing can be taught?' - to my mind, not a great step up from 'what's your favourite colour then?' - I came away from this day of nicely ambling literary conversation with a warm glow. Never mind that almost everyone there was probably in the industry anyway - the love and enthusiasm of all of those involved for their work was salutory. I tried to hold on to a little of that spirit on my way home, even while the tube was in a sulk and I was squeezed upside down into the 25 bus. I've kept a piece of it in a small tin in the kitchen. Could be useful for those grey days in winter.