Dubbed the ‘Tenth Muse’ by Plato, Greek lyrical poet Sappho has been immortalised as both an icon and an enigma.
While her contemporaries devoted their songs to the Gods and
war, Sappho focussed on vulnerable, human experience - her words “more
naked than flesh”. Sappho’s first-person perspectives offered women a
voice in a society where there was none, radicalising musical culture
and paving the way for soulful singer-songwriters like Adele and Joni
Mitchell.
History has painted a colourful picture of Sappho’s lesbian affairs
and dramatic suicide. Yet knowledge of The Poetess’s life is as
fragmented as her works; just 650 lines of poetry are known to have
survived. Though one thing is for sure – Sappho’s deeply moving lyrics
on sex, love and motherhood continue to captivate listeners and cement
her as a symbol of feminist and queer culture.
Poet in the City welcomes you back to Wilton’s for a decadent -
dissident - evening of music, recital and revelry evoking the spirit of
the world’s first feminist.
Featuring artists including Joelle Taylor, Remi Graves and Richard Scott and hosted by Professor Peggy Reynolds (Queen
Mary University).
Running time: 90 minutes, no interval
Remi Graves is a London based poet and drummer. A former Barbican Young Poet, Remi's work has been commissioned by St Paul's Cathedral, Barbican and BBC Radio 4. Remi’s debut pamphlet, with your chest, is out now published by Fourteen Poems.
Richard Scott was born in London. His first book Soho (Faber & Faber, 2018) was a Gay’s the Word book of the year and shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot prize. Recent works include ‘Quartz’ in Poetry Review and ‘Amethyst’ in the anthology Queer Life, Queer Love (Muswell Press). Richard’s poetry has been translated into German and French. He is a lecturer in creative writing at Goldsmiths, University of London and he teaches poetry at the Faber Academy.
Please note that some material is sexually explicit in nature and features themes of sexual abuse, which some audiences may find upsetting.