- 31 May -30 June 2024
- This event has passed.
- CANCELLED
The Poetry Pharmacy – CANCELLED
** This event has been cancelled. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused. **
Universal, inspirational, delightful: William Sieghart’s The Poetry Pharmacy has brought comfort to thousands during lockdown. Seldom has poetry been such an obvious source of inspiration and comfort than during the pandemic. There are words here for everyone, for every moment in our journey, dispensing wisdom and reassurance.
Come along to this unique event to hear William speak about the far-reaching effects of this marvellous collection and to hear live ‘prescriptions’ and poem suggestions for the audience, their friends and loved ones.
Venue: Burnham Baptist Church Hall, Station Road, Burnham on Crouch, Essex, CM0 8HJ
Date and time: Thursday 2nd June, 12.00 midday
Tickets: Pay What You Can, suggested £3
Box Office: Book online via our eventbrite page
Nurses, carers, doctors, trust administrators, the makers of the world’s largest calming app, and members of the general public have all been reaching out to William Sieghart in a stream of requests for poems to heal, support and inspire.
Actress Emilia Clarke, Mother of Dragons, has found the books immensely helpful during her recovery from a series of brain aneurisms. She posted ten prescriptions on her Instagram site accompanied by readings from famous actors of the poems featured in the books. Amongst the readers were Andrew Scott, Nathalie Emanuel, Emma Thompson, David Oyelowo, Helena Bonham Carter, Stephen Fry, Thandie Newton, Idris Elba and Emilia herself. Between them they have had 34 million views so far.
Video: Emilia Clarke talks about The Poetry Pharmacy
Testimonials from those who’ve experienced a poetry pharmacy
“I’ve never felt more exposed by the power of someone’s empathy and kindness”
“I had lost hope. . . . These poems have inspired me beyond words”
“brilliantly, deceptively clever. Thank you, thank you”
“thank you most sincerely for the comfort it has brought me”
“The selected poems are beautiful, but perhaps not as beautiful as your accompanying words”
“Your book has had a profound impact on my life”
The Poetry Pharmacy: Tried-and-True Prescriptions for the Heart, Mind and Soul by William Sieghart
From Loneliness, Romantic Boredom; Compulsive Behaviour, Living with Difference and Need for Reassurance, as well as Divorce, Heartbreak and Regret or even News Overload, here William Sieghart beautifully meditates on ‘the problems that really matter’ and offers up an essential poem to ease the heart, mind and soul.
A beautiful rowan-berry red, small-format clothbound book, this is the perfect gift.
“Healing for the heart and soul. I keep my copy with the brandy and aspirin” Jeanette Winterson
“… the whole collection is a matchless compound of hug, tonic and kiss. I cried at least five times.” Stephen Fry
“The book is delightful; it rightly resituates poetry in relation to its biggest and most serious task: helping us to live and die well.” Alain de Botton
Buy a copy of The Poetry Pharmacy on bookshop.org
About the Author
William Sieghart has had a distinguished career in publishing and the arts. He established the Forward Prizes for Poetry in 1992, and founded National Poetry Day in 1994. He is a former chairman of the Arts Council Lottery Panel, and current chairman of both the Somerset House Trust and Forward Thinking, a charity seeking peace in the Middle East and acceptance of British Muslims. His previous anthologies include Winning Words: Inspiring Poems for Everyday Life (2014), Poems of the Decade: An Anthology of the Forward Books of Poetry (2015) and 100 Prized Poems: Twenty-five Years of the Forward Books (2016).
