Location: Abney Park
Date: Sunday, 13 June 1 - 2:30pm
Abney Park Chapel is set to be restored on account of a large NLHF grant. This means the days left to see inside the Chapel in its current state are numbered. We are calling all literary enthusiasts to join us on the 13 June to learn about the literary history of the area, get inspired, and see a landmark moment of history for yourself.
Come and join walking artist and tour guide Simon Cole on the historic Abney Park Cemetery and Stoke Newington High Street. We'll take an interactive literary spin around a historic corner of the bookish borough of Hackney. We'll hear about controversial 18th Century writers like Daniel Defoe and Mary Wollstonecraft and dip into Alexander Baron's cult N16 novel of the 1950s. We'll swing by the graves of writers and radicals who used the pen to change the world and we'll hear from a current local writer who's continuing that great Hackney tradition of literary activism.
There's nothing like book talk to spark thought; there's nothing like a walk amid the gloriously nurturing nature of Abney to put you in a creative state of mind. Together we're going to co-create something so bring a pen and paper and we can respond to inspiration we receive en route. If you feel inclined, you can share what you wrote or drew, or take it home and work on it in private.
Biography
Simon Cole (Hackney Tours) has been exploring experiential learning across Europe for more than a decade. How can places like Abney Park inspire creativity and connection? He has run events at literary festivals in London and Kent. A self-declared 'artivist' he has appeared at Documenta and is a keen psychogeographer.
Restoration Project
Read our latest news story on the improvement works
Free Restoration Information Event: 14 June 2021 - Join the Restoration Architect, Mike Kaner, for a free online talk about the restoration plan