Cutting edge, brand new, large-scale: Deaf and disabled-led art has never been so good. LOCOG and Southbank Centre present 29 brand new commissions from Deaf and disabled artists to coincide with the Paralympics.
Filed under: Unlimited | Tagged: london, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, Unlimited | Leave a Comment »
A copy of ‘The Complete Works of Shakespeare’ smuggled into a prison is the starting point for this evening of performance and discussion.
Robben Island is the prison in which Nelson Mandela was held for 18 years, and a global symbol of the apartheid struggle. When Sonny Venkathrathnam, an inmate, smuggled in a copy of ‘The Complete Works of Shakespeare’, it became a treasure, passed between his fellow prisoners, who memorised and wrote down extracts of the work.
Theatre director Matthew Hahn has turned this story into a play, featuring extracts of Shakespeare intercut with testimony of the prisoners.
This week Matthew Hahn was interviewed on Front Row about the Robben Island Bible , which is currently exhibited at the British Museum. Have a listen on BBC iPlayer here! (it starts 23 minutes in)
Filed under: Africa Utopia | Tagged: Africa Utopia, Debate, london, Robben Island Bible, Southbank Centre, spoken word, talk | Leave a Comment »
Paris Metro. Photo Copyright L.Apichella
Ezra Pound Evening
Wednesday 6 July, 8pm
Last night was an evening dedicated to the imagist poet Ezra Pound. My expectation had been that we would hear a talk on his work, perhaps listen to a few of his poems, but what actually happened was exciting in a different way; an evening of poetry inspired by Pound’s.
Brtish poets Keston Sutherland and Tim Atkins briefly discussed the importance of Pound in contemporary poetry but the evidence was in the reading of their own, progressive work. Sutherland opened proceedings by explaining he would rather ‘channel Pound rather than answer him’.
Listening to the verses of these poets who cite Pound as master, I remember discovering Pound for myself in an early film lecture at the University of Kent. The lights were dimmed, the projector switched on and somebody read Pound’s haiku to the room, ‘In a Station of the Metro’ with its central image likening a crowd of commuters’ faces to flower petals. Cue darkness: a sound, whirr, yellow light burst from behind a silhouetted building – the New York City skyline. The chug of a subway train filled my ears, suddenly, a trumpet to herald shadowy figures rushing to their train in the early morning light. We were being shown D.A. Pennbaker’s short film Daybreak Express, which Pennebaker has said was inspired by the Pound haiku. It felt like watching a poem get up and walk about – the fusion of Duke Ellington’s rhythms and Pennebaker’s phantasmagoria of imagery pulsed with the beat of New York City. The combination of this film and the Pound haiku was unforgettable, and the memory was reawakened by last night’s event.
Sitting in the Poetry Library is like looking at a road map and having the means to go wherever you want. Their ever-growing collection is one of it’s kind and offers the most comprehensive and accessible collection of poetry from 1912 in the UK. Browsing the shelves during the interval it struck me how much can be communicated in so few words. In poetry words hover above the page, they hit you in places you had forgotten you had, and take you into different worlds. It would take a lifetime to get through the 100,000+ titles, neatly categorised on their shelves, but that is not a good enough reason not to start now.
Inspiration is unpredictable and exhilarating – there is no telling where a sound, a word or a reflection in a window may take you. I encourage anyone in the vicinity of the Southbank Centre to go to the Poetry Library on the 5th floor, to re-visit an old favourite or to discover something new.
I look forward, in this rich festival of literature, to seeing how inspiration grows.
Click to see more events at the Poetry Library.
Filed under: London Literature Festival 2011, Poetry Library | Tagged: Ezra Pound, film, Haiku, inspiration, london, New York, Poetry | 2 Comments »
We take a break from the fantastic London Literature Festival Events to bring you an exclusive sneak preview of Alexei Sayle reading from his forthcoming autobiography Stalin Ate My Homework.
Sayle gives his humorous take on growing up as the child of communist parents during the Cold War years. Take a look at this video where he describes his first encounter with swear words.
If this has whetted your appetite, you can catch him at E4 Udderbelly at Southbank Centre on 14 July.
Filed under: London Literature Festival 2010 | Tagged: Alexei Sayle, Comedy, E4 Udderbelly, Literature, Literature and Spoken Word, london, Southbank Centre, Stalin Ate My Homework | Leave a Comment »
When I first heard of the opportunity to work at the London Literature Festival I was chomping at the proverbial bit. I knew the people I would meet, from peers to elders, would be amazing and inspiring.
Within the first session I realized my comrades were all smart, young and ambitious. We hacked out a vague mental image of our show and in the consequent sessions set about whittling it into a beautiful event.
The real fear kicked in when we went to the ‘big’ meetings. The people we were surrounded with had over a hundred years of national media experience and published books in double figures between them. It would be easy to be intimidated and I think in other industries it would have been much more so; if I picture myself in a room of scientists or leading business figures it would have felt a lot more ominous.
My worries were relieved when it dawned how competent our team, and the people supporting us from above, were.
Perhaps it is a lot to expect, but looking at our line-up, I genuinely think we could have one of the best shows of this literature festival. I am of course nervous as it is a lot of responsibility, but I believe the hard work we’ve put in will pay dividends. Even if the show didn’t happen I’d still be pleased, and still be in awe, of the opportunities I’ve had and the people I have met.
Remember, remember the 10th of July.
Filed under: London Literature Festival 2009 | Tagged: festival, jayga, Literature, london, rayn, to, where, young curators | Leave a Comment »
Photos taken in the Southbank Center Shed.
Remember to come see our show.
Filed under: London Literature Festival 2009 | Tagged: alex, center, festival, jayga, Literature, llf, london, rayn, rouse, southbank, to, where | Leave a Comment »
