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18th Apr 2010John Keats
This spectacular evening marked the recent restoration of Keats’ House in Hampstead, where he wrote some of his most famous works and met the love of his life, Fanny Brawne. -
The event will featured some of the leading experts on Keats and readings from his poetry, as well as a presentation about the restoration of the house and garden, which is now once again open to the public.
Sir Andrew Motion, the former poet laureate, a prize-winning poet, Professor of Creative Writing at Royal Holloway College and author of an acclaimed biography of Keats.
Pamela Neville-Sington, a celebrated biographer, discussed Keats’ early death from tuberculosis, and the subsequent macabre fascination with this.
Peggy Reynolds, an eminent academic and broadcaster, who presents BBC Radio 4’s Adventures in Poetry, discussed one of Keats’ best-known poems, exploring his originality and poetic style.
Mick Scott, who oversaw the refurbishment of Keats’ House on behalf of the Corporation of London, talked about the techniques used to restore the house to the way it looked in Keats’ day, and the redesign of the garden to reflect some of the themes in his poetry.
Andrew Dawson has worked as an actor and theatre director for fve years. His acting credits include playing the part of John Keats in Keats in Hampstead, a play written by James Veitch, first performed at Keats’ House in Hampstead in 2007, and revived there in 2009. He will be reading a selection of Keats’ poetry.
Rosalie Jorda conducted interviews with the participants which can be found here.