THE annual St Martin-in-the-Fields Autumn Lecture Series will be taking the title “Inspiration” this year. Its line-up assembles an eclectic range of speakers who will be talking about the influences that have shaped their life.
The series, run in partnership with the Church Times again, begins on Monday 9 September, when the priest and writer the Revd Lucy Winkett, the poet Ruth Padel, and the theologian and writer Dr Claire Gilbert will talk about music, poetry, and revelation. Next comes the historian William Dalrymple, whose lecture is titled “A Quest for the Sacred”.
The actor, playwright, and director Kwame Kwei-Armah will be speaking on innovation, access, and community in the theatre. The Vicar of St Martin’s, Canon Sam Wells, will speak on moments of truth on 7 October.
In an event held with Christian Aid, the academic and lawyer Philippe Sands KC will give a lecture, “Genocide and Other International Crimes: Protecting the individual and the group, now and tomorrow”. Next in the series comes a talk on soul friends by the former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Williams.
On 4 November, the cultural historian Neil MacGregor will give a lecture called “Living with the Gods”. Then, the broadcaster and journalist Zeinab Badawi will speak on her new book, An African History of Africa. The series ends with the award-winning novelist Zadie Smith, who speaks on “People and Ideas”.
Canon Wells said that the series would challenge the audience to think about their own sources of inspiration. “We’ve gathered an enthralling group of people known for the excellence, fascination, and importance of what they have ‘breathed out’. But what have they ‘breathed in’ that has shaped their imagination and stimulated their thoughts, ideas, and passions? And did they realise it at the time, or can they only identify these things in retrospect?” he said.
“These lectures and talks offer us a privileged insight into the hearts and souls of people who shape our public consciousness today, and offer us opportunities to ponder and feel gratitude for our own sources of inspiration.”
smitf.org/lectures