Programme Jan–Apr 2017
poetryEast in association with the
poetryEast is an ongoing series of cultural events at the LBC, exploring the meaning and value of the imagination. Previous guests have included Michael Frayn, Wendy Cope and Michael Longley. This spring, poetryEast is proud to announce a second series in association with the London Review of Books, hosted by Maitreyabandhu, focussing on the modern novel. (Subscriptions to the LRB will be available at a significant discount on these evenings.) To join the mailing list, send a blank email to info@poetryeast.net.
Max Porter & Evie Wyld Saturday 28th January
Max Porter’s Grief is the Thing With Feathers, a meditation on grief and loss and love, is ‘a perfect summation of what it means to lose someone but still to love the world’ (Guardian). Evie Wyld was on Granta magazine’s once-in-a-decade list of ‘Best of Young British Novelists’ in 2013. Her most recent novel, All the Birds, Singing, won the Miles Franklin award, Australia’s most prestigious literature prize, while the Independent called her a ‘young writer with talent to burn’. 7.30pm. £10. Booking essential.
James Meek Saturday 25th February
As well as the author of seven novels, James Meek is a distinguished journalist: his roles at the Guardian included Moscow bureau chief and religious affairs editor, and he has reported on the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the US prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, and is now a contributing editor to the London Review of Books. His novels include The People’s Act of Love, set in ‘the world of Kafka and Primo Levi, where the impossible keeps happening’.
John Lanchester Saturday 18th March
John Lanchester is a journalist and author who has specialised in explaining the financial crisis to the general public (his non-fiction books include Whoops! Why Everyone Owes Everyone and No One Can Pay, and How to Speak Money). He is also the author of seven novels, including Capital, which was made into a TV series by BBC One. His memoir Family Romance recounts the story of his mother, a nun who walked out of the convent, changed her name and falsified her age, and concealed these facts from her husband and son until her death. 7.30pm. £10. Booking essential.
Looking ahead... Andrew O’Hagan
Andrew O’Hagan, editor-at-large of the London Review and the author of five novels and numerous works of non-fiction, will join us on Saturday 10th June.
7.30pm. £10. Booking essential.
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