why iS ThE SummEr SEaSON a liTEraTurE FaVOuriTE? pagE - 28

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.” - The Great Gatsby

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate. Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.

This classic summer quote by The Great Gatsby is still iconic though many poets and writers have taken a particular interest in summer literature, gifting us with splendid summer fantasies, scenic descriptions of the season and splendid summer quotes to read when we need a warm hug from our favourite books.

Writers as early as Shakespeare have written plots around the season and given us timeless summer quotes. A Midsummer Night’s Dream, one of Shakespeare’s favourite plays, is set in Athens around the summer season. It is comedic, light-hearted and most importantly features romance and marriage. The Summer season is seen as symbolic of youth, innocence, joy, freedom and adventure among other things, hence setting the tone for budding Romances, stories of adventure and new beginnings. Shakespeare’s famous Sonnet 18 compares the lover and her beauty to the summer. Summer in this case sets the tone for passionate feelings, such as love and lust.

In William Wordsworth’s poem, I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, the speaker talks about the blissful feeling of witnessing the beauty of a full field of daffodils. The essence of plentiful nature and the feeling of bliss has been conveyed through the summer season in this case. Although the symbolism of summer is different for different writers, summer in this case acts as a catalyst in conveying the emotions of bliss and natural beauty. McEwan’s 2001 novel Atonement begins in a country house one hot summer day, leading up to events that would change the course of many characters featured in the book. The quote- “I love England in a heatwave. It’s a different country. All the rules change”, reflects the socioeconomic structure and the definition of freedom at the time. The book features an upper-class family in England and brings out a different meaning of summer based on one’s class. It is set in times when the rules were so much more evident, and the existential effect of their loosening so much greater.

A contemporary summer series, The Summer I turned Pretty by Jenny Han, is the story featuring Belly who measures her life in the summers. Everything good, everything magical, happens between June and August. It is a coming of age story of first love, first heartbreak and the journey to one unexpected, perfect summer. It is a contemporary summer novel, following in the footsteps of many classics where the plot revolves around a wonderful summer and first love. Adlestrop by Edward Thomas is another literary gem praising the English summer. The setting for this poem is the railway station located in the English countryside Adlestrop in Gloucestershire. The time is set in ‘late June’ and the poet is on his way to visit a friend. On his way, he notes the summery sounds and sights while the train stopped at the station. The poem captures a moment of English summer tranquillity in a few vivid, evocative images and sounds.

Seasons have always played a significant role in setting the mood for the books- from nostalgia during the Autumn symbolized by fallen, crushed leaves and empty tree branches to biting cold and Grey skies of the winter symbolizing loneliness and despair. However, nothing compares to the possibilities the summer offers a writer’s imagination. From conjuring up a reminiscence of youth, budding romance in long hot days lost loves and memories carried on by the breeze to beautiful descriptions of blossoming flowers, colourful gardens fluttering in the summer breeze, clear night skies with twinkling stars, the summer season makes for a literary treasure and a writer favourite.

Words by: Shivika Singh Design by: Holly Chapman

My Dream Festival

It is every music lover’s dream to be able to design their own festival – to choose the location, the line-up, the food. Often a festival doesn’t quite have everything you want, and as a music lover, I often daydream about what my dream festival would be.

My ideal festival would be coastal; I grew up near the north Devon coast and I absolutely love being by the sea. I don’t have a specific location in mind, but I picture it being on a beach with a forest nearby – very much a combination of bonfires on the beaches and fairy lights in the forest. I love the idea of spending the day in the sunshine and being able to retreat to the shade, then sitting by bonfires as the sun is setting.

Obviously, the crucial part of the festival would be the music, and my dream line-up would create a very chill, beachy vibe. I would want a lot of Indie-Folk artists such as Bon Iver, Ben Howard, Hozier, Lizzy McAlpine, Sleeping at Last, and of course, Taylor Swift (playing Folklore and Evermore, probably).

It would take place over a couple of days, and everyone would camp in the forest. There would be plenty of different food stalls (not charging a fortune, which is how you can tell this is a dream and not reality) and stages for smaller bands or artists to have a go. Ideally, it would be a warm summer weekend, so people could swim and surf in the sea and spend the evening listening to great music with a cocktail in hand.

I have been to a few festivals and have enjoyed being in packed crowds screaming along to music I only half know, but my dream festival would be a lot calmer. Music is a big part of my day-to-day life, and I would like to be able to experience it in a setting I love with great friends, lots of drinks, and massive bonfire-shaped fire hazards.

Words by: Tilda Skene

My dream festival would be a perfect actualisation of my admittedly selfish desires. The matter of who is performing is central: although a lot of these may not be as feasible, and it’s best not to get carried away, so I’ll limit it to artists who are still with us… otherwise the line-up would just alternate between David Bowie and The Clash all weekend!

There is no question in my mind as to who the ultimate headliners are – the mighty Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are still at the top when it comes to unmissable headline acts. Sparks would also be given a lengthy set. I’d like Supergrass there, along with Paul McCartney playing the entirety of his 1971 cult-classic indie-pop-inventing album RAM. There are also numerous bands I’d like to see come back together for my festival if persuaded – The Jam would be epic, so would Roxy Music with Eno, the three-thirds of Led Zeppelin, The Smiths (if Morrissey promised to behave himself), The Sex Pistols if John Lydon promised to not, and most of all Talking Heads. I’d include some newer music too – Yola, IDLES, Wet Leg and Phoebe Bridgers would surely be attending.

Music aside, entertainment and activities are vital to any festival. I’d have a petting zoo, and burger vans with loads of hot dogs and assorted meats coupled, complete with an array of steaming hot sauces to lather them in. The toilets would be unbelievably sanitary, and I’d be happily escorted right to the front of the crowds for everything going on. You would be also complementary to an array of decent beers and spirits, plus a large vinyl record fair and fairground rides just for the sake of them. How about an outdoor cinema, showing Back To The Future, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Star Wars on loop? There might as well be an attendant constantly chucking sweets out to every audience member too.

There’d also be a house music tent and, right next door to that, a Northern Soul tent full of DJs, most important of which, of course, being myself.

Words by: Billy Edwards

Illustration by: Rahima Bhatti, @rahima.creative