Southbank Centre and Lambeth Libraries
Located in Lambeth, the Southbank Centre organises some of the best literary events in the country. For the last two years Lambeth Libraries have been involved in a number of joint projects with spectacular results.
Lambeth Libraries: a poetry side-dish
Two-for-one offer for Lambeth book groups
During the the Poetry International festival, held at the the Southbank Centre in 2006, Lambeth Libraries book groups read poems chosen by the Festival poets.
Following on from this collaboration, the Poetry Library has collected poems for Lambeth book groups that explore issues or settings also found in the books they are reading. So why not read the poem together with the book?
Included are poems to accompany Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Purple Hibiscus, Victoria Hislop's bestseller The Island and Hilary Mantell's dark story Beyond Black; Ukranian poetry for Marina Lewycka's A Short History of Tractors and Iranian poet Shadab Vajdifor for Azar Nafisi's Reading Lolita in Tehran. See the full list at the Poetry Library website to find your book's poem. The list is updated regularly.
For ideas about discussing poetry, see the Southbank Centre poet-in-residence Lemn Sissay's suggestions. If you would like to read more poetry with your book group, why not take a look at the Poetry Library web page for readers' groups?
Find out more about Lambeth's Adults' book groups.
Talking Chairs
In 2007 five libraries in Lambeth hosted 'talking chairs'. Designed for parents and children, each chair seated two people and told a variety of stories, memoirs and sounds on the theme of the sea.
The chairs were designed by Sofie Layton and Simon Dormon, on commission from the Royal Festival Hall, where they now reside.
Digital Dialogues project at Clapham Library
At the beginning of 2007 Clapham Library was involved in an exciting project with the Hayward Gallery.
Film tutors from the Hayward Gallery worked with Clapham Library Over-50s Group to produce a digital film on the theme of dreams. This was part of a wider project involving other groups and their film was shown at the Hayward Gallery in March 2007. Members of the Over 50s Group were given the chance both to act in the film and take a part in making it, including camerawork.
Trading Places
Residents in Lower Marsh in the north of the borough formed a memory and poetry group, meeting in Waterloo Library to record their memories and poems about the street, in a project titled Trading Places.
Working with school children, local young people, residents, shop owners, office workers, market traders and elders, 'Trading Places' resulted in a booklet of poetry, and an interactive wall of songs, snapshots, poetry and memories - a 'Lomowall' - at the front of the Royal Festival Hall.
Presiding Spirits
Every two years in October the South Bank Centre organises the Poetry International festival.
Presiding Spirits produced a beautiful collection of short poems chosen by leading poets as their inspiration. Talking about his presiding spirit, renowned poet Lemn Sissay performed at a packed Clapham Library in 2006 to a rapt audience - which was truly inspirational. The project continues as Lambeth Book groups take time to discuss the poems in the collection.
Literary highlights from the Southbank Centre
America Decides: 9 September - 28 October 2008
Think you know America? Think again. Southbank Centre presents the story of the other America. On the eve of the superpower’s most historic presidential election we’re asking you to open up a dialogue with leading writers and thinkers on the US – tackling the big issues that define this momentous election: race, gender, sexuality, class, faith, and the effects of American foreign policy on its own peoples and the rest of the world.
The season opens with with Joe Bageant and includes writers such as Simon Sharma and Toni Morrison.
Find out more about the Southbank Centre literature and spoken word programme