The Royal Geographic Society

William Sieghart in conversation with Stephen Fry & friends

An unmissable, one-off evening celebrating the power of poetry, in which William Sieghart, author of the bestselling anthology The Poetry Pharmacy, will be in conversation with Stephen Fry, President of Mind, with an array of dazzling guests to read poems on prescription for a range of common, emotional conditions.

Join us at the Royal Geographical Society on September 10th for a truly soul-soothing event, with William and Stephen discussing their favourite poems and poetry’s benefits to our mental health.

Plus, we’ll be welcoming acclaimed actors to the stage to read powerful, moving and healing poems, including Harriet Walter, Denise Gough and Gloria Obianyo.

Plus, for a limited time only, get 15% off your ticket when you use the code earlybirdpoetry at checkout. Get your earlybird ticket now >

Mind is the leading mental health charity in England and Wales. With deepening health inequalities, years of underinvestment in mental health services and increasing numbers of young people reaching crisis point, Mind’s work has never been needed more.

We have collaborated on World Suicide Day for this unique event. There will be an opportunity to donate to Mind on the night, and we are grateful for any and all support.

Main stage

The Queen’s Reading Room at Hampton Court Palace

William Sieghart presents his Poetry Pharmacy: featuring Dame Harriet Walter and Helena Bonham Carter

Discovery Stage

Hay Festival – William Sieghart with Lisa Dwan, Indira Varma and Dominic West talk to Rosie Boycott

There is a prescription for whatever might be your poetic need or desire, from verses to soothe your soul and brighten your day to poems that offer comfort in times of trouble. The creator and editor of The Poetry Pharmacy is joined by special guests including writer and actress Lisa Dwan (TopBoy, Blackshore), actress Indira Varma (Game of Thrones, Luther), and Dominic West (Brassic, The Wire) for an event of connection, imagination and inspiration.

The Tabernacle, 34-35 Powis Square, Notting Hill Gate, London, W11 2AY

The Poetry Pharmacy Live in partnership with Intelligence Squared at the Tabernacle

Toppings Bookshop, Bath

Toppings, Bath

Join us in the bookshop to celebrate the final instalment of The Poetry Pharmacy: The Poetry Pharmacy Forever.

William Sieghart has had a long career in publishing and the arts. He established the Forward Prizes for Poetry in 1992 and founded National Poetry Day in 1994. Since the publications of the enormously successful The Poetry Pharmacy (2017) and The Poetry Pharmacy Returns (2019), he has prescribed thousands of poems up and down the UK over hundreds of hours of in-person consultations.

Now, he is back to prescribe the perfect poem for a variety of life’s ailments, offering hope and comfort to readers in need. Here, he draws on the emails he received from the public during multiple lockdowns, as well as tried-and-true classics from his in-person pharmacies, to create an essential anthology of poetry for our times.

From weathering sorrow and sudden loss, to dealing with environmental despair and burnout, this new selection speaks directly to a society in urgent need of comfort and compassion. Whether you’re searching for guidance, hope, or simply a moment of beauty, The Poetry Pharmacy Forever is here to provide solace, joy and inspiration, one verse at a time.

As part of our Autumn Literary Festival, William will be sharing his favourite poems from this highly-anticipated anthology and giving a talk on the inextricable relationship poetry has to connection and healing. It’s sure to be an unmissable evening.

Plano Nacional de Leitura Conference – Lisbon

Barnes Book Festival 2023

William Sieghart talks about his new anthology of ‘pharmacy’ poems and explains how this latest collection was created in response to reader emails received during lockdown.  William is famous for his in-person poetry pharmacies, where he chooses and prescribes a poem as an antidote to life’s problems.  The New Prescriptions anthology reflects the trauma experienced by many, from weathering sorrow and sudden loss, to dealing with environmental despair and burnout.

An entrepreneur, philanthropist and a long-term champion of poetry, William Sieghart has had a long career in publishing and the arts.  He established Forward Prizes for Poetry in 1992 and founded National Poetry Day in 1994.

Borris Festival of Ideas

William Sieghart opens his clinic to troubled souls in need of a prescription.

EA Festival 2023

Speaker: Edward Wilson, Moderator: William Sieghart.

Who knew that Suffolk provided the perfect backdrop for spy novels? Edward Wilson, based in Chediston, has written a series of spy fiction starring a protagonist who hails from Lowestoft, William Catesby. Due to Suffolk’s place on the front line of Cold War espionage, there’s apparently plenty of material to populate Edward’s thrillers. William Sieghart will delve into the personal and regional histories that make Edward’s books so compelling and have given rise to a deep and loyal following for his novels.

WATCH video

Speaker: Justin Webb Moderator: William Sieghart.

As BBC Radio 4’s longest serving presenter with front-line experience reporting some of the biggest global news stories of the 90s, Justin Webb shared his observations about how journalism, news, audiences and the media industry have evolved since he began his career and how we can clean up or upgrade the media environment so that the news can fulfil its original and most important purpose – accurately and objectively informing the public about important events that affect civic discourse.

WATCH video

Speaker: Luke Harding, Moderator: William Sieghart.

Luke Harding, the Guardian’s front-line correspondent covering the Russian invasion of Ukraine, will share some of the experiences and impressions captured in his new book, Invasion: Russia’s Bloody War and Ukraine’s Fight for Survival, in addition to giving us an update on the conflict. As both the Moscow bureau chief of the newspaper and someone who has found himself directly in the cross-hairs of Putin, Luke is uniquely well positioned to analyse and report on the war.

WATCH video

The Poetry Pharmacy Live in partnership with Hay Literary Festival

William Sieghart with Karen Bryson, Denise Gough, Natascha McElhone and Dominic West

WILLIAM SIEGHART’S POETRY PHARMACY GALA

Hay Festival 2023, Saturday 3 June 2023

Heckfield Place, Hampshire RG27 0LD

Poetry Pharmacy Walk

Walk, talk and have tea and cake with William Sieghart, author of Poetry Pharmacy and Poetry Pharmacy Returns (a copy of this latest book will be included in the ticket).

Olympia

London Book Fair

Patrick Studio Birmingham Hippodrome

Uni-Slam Poetry Competition

Hertford College, Catte Street, Oxford OX13BW

Hertford College Poetry Talk

Oxford

TEDx

The Tabernacle, London

5X15

Carlton Club, London

The Lunar Club

The Chorleywood Bookshop, WD3 5NJ

The Chorleywood Bookshop

Waterstones

Interview at Waterstone’s

The Tabernacle

5×15

Emmanuel Centre

The Power of Poetry

Stratford Literary Festival 2022

TEDX Talk 2020

The Queen’s Reading Room at Hampton Court Palace