Karl Marx's favourite Jersey pub on Branchage programme

Friday 15 August 2014

Jersey’s International film festival will be looking back at the time Karl Marx spent in one of the Island’s oldest pubs.

Branchage is boasting a full programme of literature, poetry and the spoken word as well as all the film screenings.

As part of the festival which runs from 24 to 28 September, there will be an in-depth look at the time Karl Marx and co-father of Marxist theory Friedrich Engels spent in the Trafalgar pub in St Aubin during the 19th Century. 

The two were apparently drawn to the Island’s revolutionary spirit and spent a lot of time in Jersey, staying at the pub – the venue for the one-off event.

Poet Will Burns will be chairing what promises to be a lively discussion about Karl Marx and the impact and legacy of Marxism today, drawing on letters Marx and Engels wrote one another whilst they were on the Island.

And Société Jersiaise’s assistant librarian Anna Baghiani will be shedding more light on the time they spent in the Island.

Meanwhile another old Jersey pub will be the venue for a discussion on the life and works of Wales’ most famous poet Dylan Thomas and his destructive relationship with alcohol.

Writer and broadcaster Michael Smith, poets Will Burns and Martin Greene and playwright Hannah Patterson will be discussing the great poet and giving their own insights into how drinking affects the writing life. They will also be reading from their favourite Thomas pieces.

Organisers say the programme allows guests to “immerse themselves in thought-provoking, witty and moving events that will both feed off and augment the festival’s traditional programming and reinforcing Branchage’s reputation as a truly cross-arts festival.”

There will also be a string of events held by an eclectic range of authors from Caught by the River Social Club – the online forum that helps writers which will be coming offline for the festival.

You can get all the Branchage news at www.branchagefestival.com