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 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.
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 to a rapt audience - which was truly inspirational. The project continues as Lambeth Book groups take time to discuss the poems in the collection.