Author appearances, poetry and spoken word events in London this week
Literary Death Match takes place on 15 May
Plan Ahead
LITERATURE FESTIVAL: The Asia House Literature Festival runs 6-21 May, with authors such as Brigid Keenan, Kamila Shamsie and John Keay taking part in various events. See full programme here.
FOYLES REOPENING: When Foyles on Charing Cross Road relocates to, er, further down Charing Cross Road, there will be a Grand Reopening Festival, with the likes of Hilary Mantel, Michael Palin and Jarvis Cocker. More information here. 11 June-5 July
KEATS FESTIVAL: Booking is now open for the events at the Keats Festival 2014, celebrating 200 years since Keats wrote his first poem. See full programme and book tickets here. 7-15 June
Thursday 15 May
LOCAL BUILDING: Head to Waterstones Hampstead to hear author David Burke talking about The Isokon building in Belsize Park, whose past inhabitants have include artists and spies. £5, prebook, 7pm
REVOLUTIONARY RUSSIA: Orlando Figes, author of Revolutionary Russia 1891-1991, talks at Daunt Books in Marylebone about the book. £8, prebook, 7pm
LATE NIGHT: As part of Museums at Night, Keats House opens late, with music and performance poetry. £8, prebook, 7pm
STAND UP POETRY: Bang Said The Gun, billed as “stand up poetry for people who don’t necessarily like poetry” takes place at The Roebuck on Great Dover Street. Tonight’s perfumers are Simon Munnery and Sami Switch. £7/£5, just turn up, 8pm
WAR OF WORDS: Literary Death Match see four authors read their own work for seven minutes or less, to be judged by a panel, whittled down to a final two, and competing for victory. Takes place at The Proud Archivist in Haggerston, and followed by an after party. £10, prebook, 8pm
Friday 16 May
WAR POETRY: Lyttelton Theatre at the National Theatre hosts a First World War Poetry platform, with selections read by Kenneth Cranham, Lisa Dwan and Deborah Findlay. £4/£3, prebook, 6pm
WILLIAM BLAKE: Waterstones Piccadilly hosts a discussion with The Blake Society about the impression poet William Blake made on Australia. Free, prebook, 7pm
POETS MEETING: Dodo Modern Poets meet at the Poetry Cafe tonight, hosted by Patric Cunnane and featuring up-and-coming poets James Easton, Anne Macaulay and Penny Faulkner. £7/£6, prebook, 8pm
Saturday 17 May
ANIMAL VERSE: Author John Hegley performs pieces from his new animal-themed volume of verse at the Bloomsbury Theatre. Suitable for kids aged 9 and over. £15/£10, prebook, 7pm
POETRY OPEN MIC: Lipped Ink‘s monthly event at the Poetry Cafe has a featured poet and open mic slots. £5, prebook, 7.30pm
Sunday 18 May
TORRIANO POETS: At this week’s Torriano Poets meeting, Maggie Butt shares her work. £5/£4, just turn up, 7.30pm
Monday 19 May
KING LEAR: Film and stage director Sam Mendes is at the National Theatre talking to Mark Leipacher about his production of King Lear. £4/£3, prebook, 5.30pm
EUROPEAN POLITICS: Waterstones Hampstead hosts an evening with political author and commentator David Goodhart, author of The British Dream, in the run-up to the European elections. £5, prebook, 7pm
SPY LITERATURE: Ben Macintyre talks about his new book, A Spy Among Friends with Charles Cumming at Daunt Books in Marylebone. £8, prebook, 7pm
LONDON HISTORY: Historian Jerry White is at Waterstones Piccadilly to talk about his new book Zeppelin Nights, exploring the effect of World War Two on London, in both the short and long term. Free, prebook, 7pm
PRISONOMICS: Economist Vicky Pryce is at Jewish Cultural Centre to discuss her book Prisonomics with Peter Stanford. The book was written as a result of her time in prison, and looks at the social and economic costs of keeping women in prison. £12/£15, prebook, 8pm
Tuesday 20 May
PHYSICS HISTORY: Jon Butterworth, a leading physicist on the Large Hadron Collider is at Waterstones Gower Street to talk about his new book, Smashing Physics, which covers the past 20 years of physics research. £5/£3, prebook, 6.30pm
SUBURBAN POETRY: An evening of poetry dedicated to the suburbs, especially Hampstead, at Keats House, with readings and performances. Free, prebook, 7pm
OPEN MIC: Poetry Unplugged is an open mic night at the Poetry Cafe. £5/£4, just turn up, 7.30pm
Wednesday 21 May
WAR STORY: Well-known author Tim Butcher talks at Waterstones Piccadilly about his new book, The Trigger, about the assassin who shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand and triggered the First World War. £5/£3, prebook, 6.30pm
PSYCHOLOGY: Norwegian author Karl Ove Knausgaard speaks to psychoanalyst and author Stephen Grosz at Lutyens Rubinstein bookshop. £8, prebook, 7pm
AUSTERITY: Richard Seymour, author of Against Austerity, talks at Housmans bookshop about the economic recovery. £3, prebook, 7pm
NEW NOVELS: Charlotte Mendelson and Sathnam Sanghera discuss their latest novels at Keats House, courtesy of Daunt Books. £5, prebook, 7pm
SCIENCE STORIES: The Story Sessions runs its first evening in its new location, The Cafe Of Good Hope in Hither Green. Go along to hear stories about science, from headliners and emerging acts. £3, just turn up, 7pm
SPANISH WAR: Local author Cecil Jenkins is at Waterstones Hampstead to talk about his new novel Dora Versus Picasso, set in the Spanish Civil War. £5, prebook, 7pm
CALCUTTA FICTION: Head to Southbank Centre to hear author Neel Mukherjee read from his new book, The Lives of Others, set in Calcutta in 1967. £8, prebook, 7.30pm
CANTERBURY TALES: Poets retell Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales at Telling Tales, a spoken word night at The Albany in Deptford. £10/£8, prebook, 8pm
TALL TALES: Natural Born Storytellers at Camden Head is an evening of storytelling from both experienced performers and members of the audience. This month’s theme is True Tall Tales. Free (donations welcome), just turn up, 8.15pm
Follow @LondonistLit for our pick of that day’s literary events.