Speak to Strangers

I've just come across Gemma Seltzer's brilliant 'Speak to Strangers' blog, a hundred hundred word stories about London, with a lovely interactive map to explore where the stories happened. Enjoy!

Know Your Place - 2nd February 2010

UrbanWords has teamed up with Spread the Word to present Know Your Place a panel discussion exploring the value of writing residencies.

Writers in residence can now be found in many places: at airports, bus stations, in shops and even on the Tube. But what impact do these residencies really have on the people, places and organisations involved, and how do they, in turn, shape the writing that's created? What are the objectives of those who employ writers this way, and what impact do these have on the writers themselves? What role do writers have - and what role could they have - in regeneration and place-making? The panellists include:

• Charles Beckett - Literature Officer for Arts Council England, London
• Sarah Butler - Director of Urban Words, and writer of 'Central Line Stories'
• Tamsin Dillon - Head of Art on the Underground
• Emma Hewett - Director of Spread the Word
• Kat Joyce - writer of Spread the Word's Neighbourhood Commission, 'One Mile Away'
• Lemn Sissay whose residency at the Southbank Centre created GPS (the Global Poetry System)

This event will take place in the evocative space of the German Gymnasium, a Grade II listed building at King's Cross , now redeveloped as the visitor centre for the King's Cross Central Development, one of the largest urban regeneration projects in Europe.

Staff at the German Gymnasium are happy to provide a free, short introductory talk on the King's Cross development to attendees. Please arrive at the venue at 5.30pm if you would like this.

Tuesday 2 February
6pm - 8pm
German Gymnasium
26 Pancras Road, Kings Cross, London, N1C 4TB
Train/Tube: Kings' Cross
£ 8/ £ 6 (concessions)
Booking: 0207 735 3111 or online