This National Poetry Day, Poet in the City transports you around the Knowledge Quarter and invite you to explore the themes of change and transformation through an exciting programme of live poetry performances and discussion.

From the societal shifts in attitude and the activists that instigate them, to the blossoming biological patterns of the natural world and the alternating architecture we build upon it, they’ll be using poetry to interpret the meaning of change throughout our environment.

Make That Change

Great Court, British Museum

Acclaimed American playwright Bonnie Greer and South African poet Leeto Thale celebrate both Black History Month and and National Poetry Day by taking a look through time to explore the role of activism in instigating change.

Bonnie Greer has campaigned for diversity in the Arts from the inside out and now invites you to look at pivotal points of progress and activism in her own life through readings of the poems that inspired her struggles and excerpts from her second novel  Entropy . Following Bonnie’s readings, South African poet and artist Leeto Thale performs poems in honour of Nelson Mandela to mark the 100th anniversary of his birth.

Meet a Scientist: National Poetry Day Special

 Deconstructing Patterns Exhibition, Francis Crick Institute 1-3pm

Explore the Francis Crick Institute as we unpick the billions of interlacing patterns threading together the natural world and enter the extraordinary universe of biological change.

From before we are born our cells shift and change, replicating and transforming in time, reacting to their ever-changing environment. This National Poetry Day we join the Francis Crick Institute’s ongoing investigation into intricate cellular patterns and transformations, with poet Helen Mort and two scientists on hand to bring Crick science to life and to answer any questions that you might have about life in the lab.

If These Walls Could Talk

 UCL Quad, Gower Street, 3-6pm

As times change and buildings remain, how do the stories cemented within their walls influence how we live today?

Established in 1826, UCL has a long and varied history that is etched into its architecture. Many of the university’s spaces and buildings used today are named after academics and architects from the past.

As part of National Poetry Day, poet and former industrial archaeologist Jo Bell, and poet and playwright Yomi Sode will explore how our ideas of ourselves and our lives are shaped by the space around us.  One brick at a time, they deconstruct the societal effects of architecture, and ask how important it is to decolonise our environments to create a safe space for all through an afternoon of live poetry performance and discussion.

In partnership with UCL Culture.