Westminster Abbey celebrates poets and poetry in Voice and Verse events season this autumn
Wednesday, 4th September 2024
Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey is a place of pilgrimage for literature lovers and home to memorials to more than a hundred of our greatest writers. This autumn the Abbey will host a series of special events celebrating the words of these much-loved literary figures, alongside those of new and emerging poets. The season, Voice and Verse, launches on Thursday 3rd October, National Poetry Day.
Among the highlights will be recitals by members of the Abbey’s world-renowned choir who will be performing songs inspired by some of the poets honoured in the Abbey on Thursday 7th and Thursday 14th November. A lunchtime concert in St Margaret’s Church on Wednesday 23rd October will also feature music influenced by literary greats.
A new series of monthly lunchtime talks launches on Wednesday 9th October when Professor Helen Hackett from University College London will be exploring the extraordinary lives of women writers including Emily Brontë and Elizabeth Barrett. On Wednesday 13th November, author Max Egremont will examine the legacies of the poets commemorated in the Abbey.
Professor Catherine Pickstock will give the annual Charles Gore lecture in the Abbey on Wednesday 18th September as she reflects on The Poetics of Life: Life as Poetry.
Audiences around the world will be invited to join an online discussion on Thursday 14th November, when the Abbey's Dean, the Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle, and Canon Theologian, the Reverend Dr James Hawkey, will be in conversation with speakers from St. John the Divine Cathedral in New York. They’ll be reflecting on the significance and impact of a Poets’ Corner within a place of worship.
Among other events for visitors will be Poetry Pilgrimage tours in the Abbey; pop up talks in Poets’ Corner; readings of war poetry by serving armed forces personnel and their families during Remembrancetide; activities for families and children; and bookbinding and poetry workshops.
Online, a series of eight short videos will highlight the life and work of a different poet remembered in the Abbey. An audio series will explore the stories of five hymns which each draw on the texts of poems.
The season will draw to a close at the end of November.
Booking
Find out more about our Voice and Verse season and how to book tickets
