Poet in the City organises and hosts up to 10 or more poetry events each year featuring both internationally known and up-and-coming poets. Our events are designed to be accessible to those who are new to poetry while offering lovers plenty of substance and depth. Locations vary but include both evocative venues and places that are not generally open to the public.
Forthcoming events
September
Contemporary Lines - Sat 11th 3pm, 4.15pm and 5.30pm
Contemporary Lines is a series of three Poet in the City events forming part of the annual Kings Place Festival featuring the acclaimed Faber New Poets presented by their poet mentors.
Maps at 3.00pm (Maurice Riordan, Anna Katchinska and Sam Riviere)
Bodies at 4.15pm (Jo Shapcott, Fiona Benson, Jack Underwood); and
Communications at 5.30pm (David Harsent, Heather Phillipson and Toby Martinez de las Rivas).
All tickets cost £4.50 online at www.kingsplace.co.uk Box Office 020 7520 1490.
Symmetry in the Alhambra - Thurs 16th 6.30pm
Enjoy a fascinating evening in the company of Professor Marcus du Sautoy of Oxford University, the Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University. This acclaimed academic and popular cultural commentator will argue that the mathematics of symmetry is fundamental to understanding the beautiful designs of the Moorish artists in the Alhambra, a world heritage site, which is often described as approximating to architectural perfection.
Hosted by Professor Stephen Hart of University College London, who will provide an English introduction and will place the poets, speakers and musicians in context
Poetry in Spanish will also be read and performed in English translation.
This event is FREE but you must reserve your place by calling Candi Pérez on 020 7201 0752, emailing cultlon1@cervantes.es, or write to Deciphering the Alhambra, Instituto Cervantes, 102 Eaton Square, London SW1W 9AN.
The event will take place at Instituto Cervantes, 102 Eaton Square, London SW1W 9AN
Part of the Deciphering the Alhambra series exploring the poetry embedded in the walls of the Alhambra Palace in Granada
Thomas Hardy - Mon 20th 7pm
A wonderful celebration of the poetry of one of the greatest British poets and writers, who died in 1928.
Hosted by Claire Tomalin, the distinguished biographer of Thomas Hardy, the event will also feature the contemporary poets Pam Hope, Paul Hyland, Catherine Simmonds and Kate Scott.
Tickets available from the Kings Place box office. Tickets cost £9.50 if booked online from www.kingsplace.co.uk otherwise tickets cost £11.50. Box Office 020 7520 1490.
This event is being held in partnership with the National Trust and the Sunday Times magazine.
Fernando Valverde - Thurs 30th 6.30pm
Fernando Valverde (b. 1980) is considered to be one of the leading lights of Spain’s younger generation of poets. Initially known for his experimental techniques, his work has gradually widened its audience base. He was awarded the prestigious Federico García Lorca prize for his collection of innovatory travel-poems, La soledad del extranjero (The Foreigner’s Solitude, 2005). The poems of his most recent collection, Los ojos del pelícano (The Pelican’s Eyes, 2009), which won the Emilio Alarcos prize, are forceful, emotion-drenched and offer arresting vignettes of global horizons.
Hosted by Professor Stephen Hart of University College London, who will provide an English introduction and will place the poets, speakers and musicians in context
Poetry in Spanish will also be read and performed in English translation.
This event is FREE but you must reserve your place by calling Candi Pérez on 020 7201 0752, emailing cultlon1@cervantes.es, or write to Deciphering the Alhambra, Instituto Cervantes, 102 Eaton Square, London SW1W 9AN.
The event will take place at Instituto Cervantes, 102 Eaton Square, London SW1W 9AN
Part of the Deciphering the Alhambra series exploring the poetry embedded in the walls of the Alhambra Palace in Granada
October
Hafez - Thurs 7th 7pm
A joint event with the National Portrait Gallery and the Persian Poetry Group.
Celebrating the life and work of this great Persian poet on National Poetry Day.
Tickets cost £6.00 (or £4.00 concession). Call 020 7306 0055 or book online at www.npg.org.uk/events
Spoken Word All Stars - Mon 18th 7pm
Fabulous live poetry show in partnership with Apples & Snakes, featuring some of the UK's greatest performance poets and spoken word artists.
The show is the London-based gig in the national All Stars poetry tour, being launched at the Latitude Festival in July 2010 and taking in another 9 venues nationwide.
Get your ticket from the Kings Place box office. Tickets cost £9.50 if booked online via www.kingsplace.co.uk Otherwise tickets cost £11.50. Box Office 020 7520 1490.
Antonio Carvajal - Thurs 28th 6.30pm
Antonio Carvajal (b. 1943) is one of Spain’s most celebrated poets, a star of the Generation of 1970. From his first poetic collection, Tigres en el jardín (Tigers in the Garden, 1968) to his most recent, Cartas a los amigos (Letters to Friends, 2009), Carvajal has experimented with the complex techniques of Spanish Golden Age poetry while staying true to the roots of popular Andalusian poetry. Metaphysical yet sensual, Carvajal’s poetry delights the ear as much as the mind.
Hosted by Professor Stephen Hart of University College London, who will provide an English introduction and will place the poets, speakers and musicians in context
Poetry in Spanish will also be read and performed in English translation.
This event is FREE but you must reserve your place by calling Candi Pérez on 020 7201 0752, emailing cultlon1@cervantes.es, or write to Deciphering the Alhambra, Instituto Cervantes, 102 Eaton Square, London SW1W 9AN.
The event will take place at Instituto Cervantes, 102 Eaton Square, London SW1W 9AN
Part of the Deciphering the Alhambra series exploring the poetry embedded in the walls of the Alhambra Palace in Granada
November
Corresponding Poets - Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell - Mon 15th 7pm
A celebration of the life and works of two of the greatest North American poets of the 20th Century.
Get your ticket from the Kings Place box office. Tickets cost £9.50 if booked online via www.kingsplace.co.uk Otherwise tickets cost £11.50. Box Office 020 7520 1490.
Milena Rodríguez - Thurs 25th 6.30pm
Milena Rodríguez, a poet and an essayist born in Havana in 1971, has lived in Granada since 1997. Her poetry, which includes El pan nuestro de cada día (Our Daily Bread, 1998); Alicia en el País de Lo Ya Visto (Alice in the Never-Seen-Land, 2001) and El otro lado (The Other Side, 2006) is playful, witty and down-to-earth. It exposes the foibles of patriarchy, rejects history in favour of ‘herstory’, and has political bite.
Hosted by Professor Stephen Hart of University College London, who will provide an English introduction and will place the poets, speakers and musicians in context
Poetry in Spanish will also be read and performed in English translation.
This event is FREE but you must reserve your place by calling Candi Pérez on 020 7201 0752, emailing cultlon1@cervantes.es, or write to Deciphering the Alhambra, Instituto Cervantes, 102 Eaton Square, London SW1W 9AN.
The event will take place at Instituto Cervantes, 102 Eaton Square, London SW1W 9AN
Part of the Deciphering the Alhambra series exploring the poetry embedded in the walls of the Alhambra Palace in Granada
December
Pre-Christmas Drop-in - Mon 6th 6.30pm
Taking place at the offices of Keltie
RSVP by calling 07908 367488, by emailing info@poetinthecity.co.uk or by writing to Poet in the City, c/o Cathy Galvin/Anmar Frangoul, News International, 1 Pennington Street, London E98 1ST.