Lunchtime Talk: Women Poets
Professor Helen Hackett explores the lives and works of several women poets, considering why only some of them have been memorialised in Westminster Abbey.
Only a few women have made it into Poets’ Corner at Westminster Abbey yet history is filled with remarkable female writers. Professor Helen Hackett will consider what cultural forces led some women to be memorialised but not others.
To answer this question, Professor Hackett will discuss the lives of a selection of women poets, beginning with the notable poets Emily Brontë and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, whose eventful lives and inspiring works are commemorated in the Abbey.
She will then shine a light on some of the female poets commemorated elsewhere in the Abbey, such as Elizabeth Russell and Margaret Cavendish, before looking beyond its walls to encounter some distinguished women poets who are entirely missing from the Abbey, including Aemilia Lanyer and Mary Wroth.
This event is part of our monthly Lunchtime Talk series. On the second Wednesday of every month, join us at St Margaret’s Church for an in-depth exploration of part of the Abbey’s history.
About Helen Hackett
Helen Hackett is a Professor of English at University College London, specialising in literature of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and with particular interests in writing by and about women. Her most recent book, The Elizabethan Mind (2022), explores the turbulent debates of Shakespeare’s time about the mind in relation to body, soul, and self, and includes a chapter on ideas about the female mind.
Ticketing information
This event does not include entry to Westminster Abbey. We recommend looking at the Visit us pages to plan a visit during opening hours.
If you would like to look around the rest of the Abbey during your visit then we recommend you do so before you attend the Lunchtime Talk. This is to allow you enough time to see as much as possible.
Tickets will be available to buy with card payment on the day.
Free for Associates - Admission will be granted upon presentation of a valid Association membership card.
Age suitability
This event is for adults and young people over the age of 16, please see our family pages for information and events to explore this theme as a family.
Timings
You are welcome to attend the lunchtime Eucharist at 12.30pm before the talk.
Doors will open at 12.45pm and the talk will begin at 1.00pm. There will be time for an audience Q&A from 1.40pm.
Meeting location
This event takes place in St Margaret's Church, please follow main visitor entry route through the security check where the event will be signposted.
Access and security
Please have your ticket ready to show our staff (either printed or on your mobile phone).
The Abbey is committed to creating inclusive and accessible events for all. If you have any access requirements or questions about your visit, please contact us when booking: [email protected]
Filming and photography
Please note that filming and sound recording are not permitted in St Margaret's. See our photography policy for more information.
Voice and Verse season
This event is part of the Voice and Verse season. Join us in October and November as we celebrate the power of words and stories penned by historic and emerging poets.
