Poetry & Lyrics Festival at Kings Place

Daguerreotype taken at Mount Holyoke, December 1846 or early 1847,
the only authenticated portrait of Emily Dickinson after childhood.
The original is held by
Amherst College Archives and Special Collections

The Poetry and Lyrics Festival 2018, produced by Poet in the City, runs at Kings Place from 8 to 9 June 2018, and in the mix is an eclectic programme of live music, talks, readings and workshops. The festival is celebrating its third year with a theme of ‘Legacy and Subculture’.

Soprano Claire Booth will be joined by pianist Christopher Glynn to perform Aaron Copland's song-cycle Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson. Completed in 1950, the cycle represents Copland's longest work for solo voice, and each of the songs is dedicated a composer friend. Copland would later orchestrate eight of the songs.

Other performers at the festival include Cerys Matthews who is presenting an evening of Blues music, Jehnny Beth, Anthony Joseph and Richard Scott.

Poet in the City, which curates the festival, is a national arts charity that brings poetry to life beyond books, producing classic and contemporary poetry performances taking on major ideas, issues and people.

Further information from the Kings Place website.