Poet in the City

Poet in the City brings poetry to life beyond books, producing classic and contemporary poetry performances taking on major ideas, issues and people. We showcase biopics, use poetry to animate moments of cultural and social change, and create dramatic poetry experiences in major arts venues and unusual spaces. We want to make live poetry a popular art form, and are bringing large and diverse audiences to events everywhere from the British Museum and the Barbican, to Richmix, St Paul’s Cathedral and hotels across the city. Examples include a festival of Poetry & Lyrics (acts have included PJ Harvey, Afrikan Revolution, Cerys Matthews and Kayo Chingonyi), a whole station takeover of St Pancras International using poetry to engage commuters with migrant and refugee experiences, and Under the Skin, an event for 2,000 people at St Paul’s Cathedral showcasing new poetry about the space. We work with a thriving community of volunteers who are involved in all aspects of our work and lead a Producers scheme for 16-25 year olds who curate events within our artistic programme.