Last Updated on January 24, 2025
Join your favourite leading authors, thinkers and speakers in The Conversation
Following a successful launch last summer, The Conversation, a programme of talks scheduled at St Martin in The Fields, returned to London last week. The Conversation starts like any other talk, but the second half of the event provides a twist on the regular format, encouraging audience members to converse face-to-face with speakers.
The Conversation is programmed by Peter Florence, one of the founders and former director of the Hay Literary Festival, who hopes to encourage debate around some of the world’s most pressing issues. Covering topics like the climate crisis and international conflict, the format encourages the audience to share their own thoughts on matters of monumental consequence.
Speaking about his inspiration for the event, Florence said: “I took part in a really engaging “long table” debate at the Reykjavik Arts Festival and loved the way the audience became part of the conversation. It’s partly the social opportunity to hang out with people, but it’s also the idea that every idea inspires people to think and do more. And, the location itself is an inspiration: the most central venue in London, St Martin in the Fields was the birthplace of so many social justice movements – Shelter, Liberty, Amnesty International, the Pride Movement… you never know what might spark, but you can hope for wonder and action.”
“We are committed to talking about power, conflict resolution, climate action and inequalities, but we really want great storytelling to illuminate the darker corners of all that trouble. I think we also really wanted to step back and say – there are wonders too – wonders of the world with Bettany Hughes and wonders of the universe with Maggie Aderin-Pocock– that can give us a great sense of hope, and a great sense of perspective!”
The Conversation kicked off last week with Lindsey Hilsum, the international editor for Channel 4 News, talking about her new book I Brought the War with Me – an anthology of war poetry and stories from the front line. In conversation with journalist and activist Caitlin McNamara, Hilsum spoke about the continuing importance of international journalism, the solace she finds in poetry and her varied career in some of the world’s most conflict-ridden communities.
After a brief pause for book signing, a handful of audience members remained for the start of the promised ‘Conversation’. The format gave rise to more free-flowing and intimate discussions about the importance of poetry in hard times, the future of the free press and the double-edged sword of social media. Putting speakers and their audience on the same level encourages people to engage more directly with the ideas that are put in front of them.
Discussing the format, Florence said: “It’s fun to get closer, to bring the platform to the table, face to face. And maybe it’s simply a good way to meet people. We adapt it every time to what people want to experience. The audience really determines what happens in the second hour of the evening.”
Running from 14th January to 6th May 2025, The Conversation features talks with bestselling writers including Hanif Kureishi, Ahdaf Soueif, Paul Lynch and Robert Macfarlane; acclaimed historians Tom Holland, Bettany Hughes, Marion Turner and Helen Castor; theatre director Nicholas Hytner, war corresponds Fergal Keane and Åsne Seierstad; as well as scientists and philosophers David Spiegelhalter, Maggie Aderin-Pocock, Roman Krznaric, Gaia Vince and Monica Feria-Tinta.
The Conversation
St Martin-in-the-Fields,
Trafalgar Square,
London WC2N 4JJ.
14th January – 6th May
Tuesdays from 6.30 pm – 8.30 pm
£15 for in-person tickets. £10 for online tickets
Tickets: https://www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org/the-conversation/
Box Office
Telephone: 020 7766 1100 Email: BoxOffice@smitf
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