Rory McTurk

Headingley resident Rory McTurk has agreed to speak at the next Headingley LitFest in March 2009. He is Emeritus Professor of Icelandic Studies at Leeds University and a recent recipient (2007) of the Order of the Falcon (Hin íslenska fálkaorða) which is awarded by the Icelandic government for outstanding achievement.

The focus of his talk will not be particularly academic, he says. The subject (and the exact date and venue) have yet to be fixed, but it might be something to do with the Vikings in Yorkshire – their stories, their poetry, literary shenanigans at the court of Erik Bloodaxe, something like that – or it might have something to do with the Sagas

We shall see, but be assured that a treat is in store for us: perhaps hawk-sharp observations on part of our local history, insights into the literature of a millennium ago or news of the scene in modern Reykyavik.....