Poetry in the Crypt is an occasional reading series which takes place in the crypt below St Mary's church on Upper Street, Islington. A short history of Poetry in the Crypt can be found here.
Our next event will be on Saturday October 13th at 7 pm.
Our guest readers will be announced shortly
Admission £4 - all proceeds go to the charity Hospice Care Kenya
For more information contact nmattson@sampo.plus.com
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Poetry in the Crypt has its origins in a series of informal poetry reading evenings arranged by Graham Claydon, vicar of St Mary’s church in Islington. Nancy Mattson and Mike Bartholomew-Biggs took over the running of these events when Graham moved on to another church.
Poetry in the Crypt has its origins in a series of informal poetry reading evenings arranged by Graham Claydon, vicar of St Mary’s church in Islington. Nancy Mattson and Mike Bartholomew-Biggs took over the running of these events when Graham moved on to another church.
Mike and Nancy introduced the idea of inviting one or two guest poets to complement the contributions from church members. At the same time – and with the support of the new vicar, Graham Kings – they began charging a small entry fee to help raise funds for “Mary’s”, a project run by Tom & Barbara Quantrill to offer meals and support for the homeless. In return, Tom and Barbara took on responsibility for providing refreshments at Poetry in the Crypt readings – and thus began the famous “free coffee & cakes” tradition which continues to the present day.
The Mary’s project came to an end in 2006 when St Mary’s crypt was closed for extensively redevelopment. This meant that, for a couple of years, Poetry in the Crypt became Poetry “in” the Crypt and took place in the Neighbourhood Centre next door to the church. At the same time, Tom and Barbara decided, reluctantly, to withdraw from refreshment duty. In their place, Mike and Nancy were able to recruit a team of “poetry elves” who take it in turns to help with creating a welcoming poetry cafe and bookstall.
With the closure of the Mary’s project, Poetry in the Crypt switched to providing support for two members of St Mary’s congregation, Paul & Claire Furbey, who went to work with HIV-affected women and children in a refuge at Purnata Bhavan in India. Money from Poetry in the Crypt was earmarked for a fund which enabled Paul and Claire to provide birthday treats and outings for the children in their care.
In 2009 Paul and Claire’s work at Purnata Bhavan came to an end; and Poetry in the Crypt (by now back in the crypt again) began supporting Hospice Care Kenya (with whom St Mary’s has a connection through congregation members Liz Salmon & Sally Hull).
Thanks to the ongoing support of the St Mary’s leadership and the current vicar Simon Harvey, Poetry in the Crypt has now been running for more than ten years – as can be seen from the list below which shows all the events since 1998. There are usually four or five events a year, mostly taking place in spring and autumn. The present format of a Poetry in the Crypt evening involves three guest readers, who each have about 25 minutes of reading time (In two slots either side of the interval), together with some (very good) readers from the floor. Audience size varies of course – for instance when an Arsenal home fixture disrupts local transport – but is usually between thirty and fifty people. The audiences are always very attentive, appreciative and willing to buy books. This last is important because guest poets agree to forego a reading fee and it is good to see them go home with some material reward as well as applause ringing in their ears.
Poetry in the Crypt at St Mary Islington since 1998
1998 November Christmas/Advent theme - no advertised readers
1999 November Graham Claydon (at Camden Head pub)
2000 November Christmas/Advent theme – no advertised readers
2001 May Ascension/Pentecost/Spring theme – no advertised readers
2001 November Graham Kings, Peter Daniels, actor Tom Mannion (reading Shakespeare & Edwin Morgan), Rhona McAdam
2002 February Actor Janet Henfrey reading Elizabeth Jennings
2002 June Carol Hughes, Nell Keddie, Philip Wells (The Fire Poet)
2002 October Sarah Lawson, Godfrey Rust, Caroline Wright
2002 November Micheal O’Siadhail (from Dublin)
2003 May Michael Bartholomew-Biggs, Cahal Dallat, Jehane Markham
2003 November Homegrown theme – no advertised readers
2004 May Shoestring publisher John Lucas introduces Ann Atkinson, Michael Bartholomew-Biggs, Malcom Carson, George Parfitt & Deborah Tyler-Bennett for Take Five 04
2004 July Mario Petrucci
2004 October Martyn Crucefix
2004 November Donald Atkinson (from Hebden Bridge), Sue Hubbard
2005 March Stephen Watts, Tamar Yoseloff
2005 June Perse Peett, Jo Roach
2005 October David Loffman, Micheal O’Siadhail (from Dublin)
2006 February Leah Fritz, Angela Kirby
2006 March Anne-Marie Fyfe, Paul McLoughlin
2006 June John Weston, Carol Hughes
2006 November Nancy Mattson, Rhona McAdam (from Canada)
2006 December Shoestring publisher John Lucas introduces Nancy Mattson, Ruth O’Callaghan, Rosemary Norman for Take Five 06
2007 March Peter Bennet (from Northumberland) & Chris Beckett
2007 May Martha Kapos & Kathryn Maris
2007 November Myra Schneider, Jacqueline Gabbitas, Katherine Gallagher, Valerie Josephs & Sue Rose from Images of Women
2008 May André Mangeot & Robert Vas Dias
2008 June Mimi Khalvati & Alice Major (from Canada)
2008 October Siobhan Campbell & Robert Seatter
2008 November Mike Bartholomew-Biggs, Graham Kings, Hugh Underhill
2009 January Brian Docherty, Anna Robinson, Hylda Sims
2009 March Shanta Acharya, Maggie Butt, Danielle Hope
2009 May Judi Benson, Todd Swift, David Perman
2009 September Anne Berkeley, Cahal Dallat, Siriol Troup
2009 October Claire Crowther, Wendy French, Maurice Riordan
2010 February Linda Black, Andy Croft, Deborah Tyler-Bennett
2010 March Joanna Boulter, Phil Kirby, Katrina Naomi
2010 April Alan Brownjohn, Peter Daniels, Mary Michaels
2010 October Murray Bodo, Sue Rose, Susan Utting
2010 November Tim Dooley, Rosemary Norman, Penelope Shuttle
2011 January Philip Hancock, Allison McVety, Samantha Wynne-Rydderch
2011 March Mike Barlow, John Lucas, Jane Routh
2011 May Wendy Klein, Jeremy Page, Anne Stewart
2011 October Martin Figura, Helen Ivory, Eve Pearce
2011 November Jane Duran, Jane Kirwan, Ales Machacek, Cristina Viti, Stephen Watts
2012 March Elizabeth Cook, Glyn Maxwell, Cheryl Moskowitz
2012 May Liz Berry, Jenna Butler, Nancy Mattson
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