Author to give intriguing talk

Flutist Guo Yue has many talents

EVOCATIVE writer, composer, and performer Guo Yue will be shedding light on Chinese culture when he comes to Saffron Walden later this month. The multi-talented flautist, composer and chef is appearing in the town as part of the Saffron Walden Literary Festival, sponsored by The Saffron Walden Reporter and Dunmow Broadcast on Saturday September 30. Blessed with a captivating charisma, Guo will demonstrate his talents as he speaks about his life, plays the flute and prepares Chinese food.

Having grown up in the back streets of Beijing during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, Guo eventually came to the UK to study music and has contributed to the musical scores of The Last Emperor and The Killing Fields, working with Peter Gabriel.

Festival organiser Jo Burch said: "This is probably the most intriguing of the events we have on offer at the festival - a window into a culture very different from anything most of us have experienced. "Guo Yue's memoir is hugely evocative. His music is hauntingly beautiful. I am very much looking forward to seeing him in action."

Despite Guo's troubled childhood - his mother was beaten and taken away by Red Guards when he was 12, then taken away and "re-educated" for three years - the performer remains a positive force.