Author appearances, poetry and spoken word events in London this week
Wednesday 27 February: English PEN launches its Prison Writing pamphlet at the Free Word Centre, with Mark Haddon (7pm, £6).
Jewish Book Week continues at King’s Place: if you’re lucky you might be able to grab tickets to a repeat of Simon Schama‘s talk on the history of the Jews (7pm, £6.50). Today’s other highlights include Jeffrey Lewis and David Aukin on the Inquisition and the Wingate Prize for Jewish Literature.
At the LSE Space for Thought Festival, Professor Christopher Andrew, Professor Lord Hennessy and Alan Judd talk about writers and having a ‘real job’; Lisa Appignanesi, Professor Anne Applebaum and Dr Charles Fernyhough discuss narrative and memory; and Greg Artus, Professor Tim Besley, Aifric Campbell and Professor Roger Kneebone ask questions about science and fiction (free, but pre-book).
Jawdance has spoken word from Mama Tokus, Claire Morgan, Chris Stewart and Vaughn Noir at Rich Mix, all free (7.30pm).
Spare Tyre present stories with spoken word, song, dance and film at the Albany (7.30pm, £6).
Poets Luke Roberts and Rhys Trimble are Xing the Line at The Apple Tree (7.30pm).
Thursday 28 February: Book Slam is at the Flyover in Ladbroke Grove, with Niall Griffiths, Niall O’Sullivan, Mae Martin and Olivia Chaney (7.30pm, £6 / £8).
John Hegley will be excellent, as always, at the Canal Cafe Theatre with support from Robert Garnham (7.30pm, £5 / £4).
Join David Harsent and Poet in the City at Waterstones Gower Street to launch a new translation of Yannis Ritsos (6.30pm, £9.50 / £7.50).
Enjoy an evening of short stories with Edith Pearlman at Keats House, with Daunt Books (7pm, £5).
There’s a lot already sold out at Jewish Book Week, but you can still see Rachel Lichtenstein talking about Hatton Garden and Yudit Kiss and George Szirtes discussing Jewish Hungarians.
David J, Ross Sutherland and Kristiana Rae Colon are at Chill Pill in Deptford (7.30pm, £7).
The Guardian’s film critic Peter Bradshaw has written a comic thriller set on VE night, and he’s talking about at Foyles (6.30pm, free but reserve in advance).
Lou Hart talks about the life of Mary Butts, student of Aleister Crowley, at Treadwell’s (7.15pm, £7, book in advance).
At the LSE, you can catch Ken Livingstone at lunchtime, then John Coates, Dylan Evans and Paul Ormerod talk about errors, emotions, biology and finance; Professor Jerry Brotton and Mike Parker discuss maps; Dr Alex Gillespie, Professor Philip Horne and Professor Sandra Jovchelovitch look at the works of Henry and William James; and John Gray lectures on existence (free, but pre-book).
Neil McKenna talks about a trial that shook Victorian England at Kensington Central Library (6pm, £5 / £3).
Cherry Potts, Katy Darby, Nathan Good and Michelle Shine read stories from Lovers’ Lies at Wood Green Central Library (7pm, free).
Mike Garry and Lydia Beardmore join the usual Bang Said the Gun crew (8pm, £7 / £5).
Friday 1 March: At the LSE, Jenny Uglow talks about pioneering woman architect Sarah Losh; Professor Russell Goulbourne, Dr Tim Hochstrasser and Dr Paul Keenan discuss the work of Denis Diderot; and Ewan Morrison, Martin Rowson and DJ Taylor debate the art of parody (free, but pre-book).
Adam Watt and Jamie McKendrick make the case for neglected classics by Proust and Bassani at Jewish Book Week (1pm, £6.50).
Stinky Bear Press brings many poets, including Chris McCabe, Amy Key and Pascal O’Loughlin, to the Mascara Bar for a night honouring Mark E Smith (8pm, free).
Miriam Halahmy, Anna Meryt and Jonathan Portman are the guests at Camden Poetry Series (6.30pm, £5 / £4).
Saturday 2 March: It’s the final day of LSE’s Space for Thought Festival. Highlights include Michael Wood and Dr Vayu Naidu on oral narratives and storytelling; Pat Barker talking about her novels and art in conflict; Gareth Edwards, John Finnemore, John Morton and Joanna Scanlan discussing comedy and social commentary; Carola Luther, Michael McGregor and Dr Llewelyn Morgan reading poetry to illuminate a discussion about politics; and Paul Farley, Tristan Gooley and Sara Maitland exploring writing about place. Tickets are free but pre-book.
Evening events at Jewish Book Week include a talk about Israeli TV drama; Ruth Fainlight, Aoife Mannix and Lynne Segal remembering the poetry of Adrienne Rich (with live subtitling) and six word memoirs from Brian Lobel, Daphna Baram, Craig Taylor, Debra Tammer, Julie Kertesz and Polly Paulusma.
Sunday 3 March: Take a book for swapping to Feed and Read at the Bearspace Gallery (12pm-4pm). There will be lots of cake.
Jewish Book Week ends: events include Orlando Figes and Nancy K Miller talking about history, Deborah Levy on her novel Swimming Home, Rachel Johnson on her novel Winter Games, Sayed Kashua talking about his portrayal of Palestinian Israelis and Stephan Mendel-Enk discussing his novel Oh Sweden! Oh Israel!
Monday 4 March: Paul Kildea talks about his biography of Benjamin Britten at Daunt Books Marylebone (7pm, £8).
Jo Shapcott, Jane Draycott and John Burnside explore the connections between poetry and medicine at King’s Place (7pm, £9.50).
Hear stories told by Spark London at the Canal Cafe Theatre (7.30pm, £8).
Dervla Murphy and Sara Wheeler talk about women and travel writing at the Royal Society of Literature (7pm, £8 / £5).
Tuesday 5 March: Huw Edwards and Andrew Simms talk about the economy and whether everything’s falling apart, as part of Dulwich Books‘s Spring Voices Festival (7.30pm, £5).
Peruvian writer Gunter Silva reads from his new book of short stories at the European Bookshop (7pm, free but book ahead).
Niall O’Sullivan hosts the Poetry Cafe‘s open mic night from (7.30pm, £5 / £4).
The fifth edition of Ariadne’s Thread focuses on war. Celebrate the launch at The Old Ship in Richmond (7.30pm, free).
John Wheeler and poets from Malika’s Kitchen are at the Gipsy Hill Tavern for Beyond Words (7.30pm, £4 / £3).
Travis Elborough is talking about his new book, London Bridge in America, at Review in Peckham (7pm).
Wednesday 6 March: Tracey Thorn is talking to Pete Paphides at the Big Green Bookshop – book quickly, this one will probably sell out (7pm, £20 including book or £10).
Tom Watson and Martin Hickman discuss Rupert Murdoch’s media empire at Waterstones King’s Road (7pm, £5).
Three of Carcanet’s most exciting young poets, Oli Hazzard, Caroline Bird and Jane Yeh, read from their work at Dulwich Books (7.30pm).
Cathy Kelly, Rosie Goodwin,Wendy Jones and Lucy Caldwell are talking about their books and lives at Brixton Library (7pm, free but reserve in advance).
Shahab Ahmed, Jennie Christian, Brian Docherty, Lisa Galdal, Jack Wilkes and Helena Boland read at a Word for Word event at the Poetry Library (8pm, free).
Follow @LondonistLit for our pick of that day’s literary events.