Author Talk with Edmund de Waal

Edmund de Waal joins us for an evening to celebrate the release of his new book 'How to Begin'! Guidance for a creative life from the international bestselling author of The Hare with Amber Eyes and Letters to Camondo. • Date: Wednesday 4 November • Time: 7pm • Venue: Walthamstow Hall, Holly Bush Lane, Sevenoaks, TN13 3UL • Tickets: from £15 Ticket Only: £15 Book & Ticket: £24 Couples Ticket: £34 - includes 1 x copy of How to Begin, and 2 x tickets How to Begin A book about finding a creative voice and becoming an artist via a scintillating new discovery in Edmund de Waal's family archives - letters between his grandmother and the great poet Rainer Maria Rilke. ** With letters translated from the German by prizewinning translator, Karen Leeder ** Edmund de Waal's grandmother, Elisabeth Ephrussi, aspired to be a poet as a young woman. While studying for a law degree in 1920s Vienna, she entered into a short but dramatic correspondence with the great German-language poet, Rainer Maria Rilke, in which he mentored her writing - and gave her advice on how to balance the demands of creativity with the need for work. When, decades later, Edmund started to write himself, his grandmother read his poetry and in turn took on the role of mentor... This is an inspiring book about the challenges of setting out on a creative life as a young person, and the solaces that come from having a mentor and friend. And, ultimately, it is about the moment when an artist must leave their mentor behind and discover their own voice. Edmund de Waal Edmund de Waal is an artist whose porcelain is exhibited in museums and galleries around the world. His bestselling memoir, The Hare with Amber Eyes, won the RSL Ondaatje prize and the Costa Biography Award and in 2015 he was awarded the Windham-Campbell prize for non-fiction by Yale University. The White Road, a journey into the history of porcelain, was published in 2015. He lives in London with his family. www.edmunddewaal.com Some of the ticket options that don’t include the author’s book, or are specially priced for couples, are limited in number and can sell out quickly. Our aim is to try and bring the best and most interesting authors to our town. We are always trying to balance accessibility and affordability for our audiences, alongside requirements from publishers to sell enough books for events to be worthwhile enterprises for their authors.