Poetry at the Crossroads: Homelessness and Community

Uncover the power of your own creative voice at Senate House Library in the heart of Bloomsbury. Led by artists Surfing Sofas and John Organ, this welcoming, interactive workshop explores themes of homelessness, community, and happiness through poetry and zines.

Whether you are a seasoned poet or have never written a line before, Surfing Sofas will inspire you with his own moving poetry and help you connect with lived experiences of homelessness.

Following the workshop, enjoy a curator-led tour of the library's free exhibition, A Place to Call Home: Poverty and Housing in London(Opens in new window), charting 200 years of the capital's housing history.

Biographies:

• Surfing Sofas is an impactful spoken-word artist who has brought his performance pieces to high-profile cultural venues like the Tate Modern and Saatchi Gallery. He has extensive experience facilitating community engagement workshops for the NHS, The Lowry, and the Hussain Manawer Clicks Academy, and is the creator of the acclaimed spoken-word album Objects and Concepts.
• John Organ is the founding director of Our Agency Network and a member of Shelter's Fair Housing Partnership Board. A trailblazer in advocacy and civic crossroads, his recent work includes a deeply reflective piece on institutional change, Daring Philanthropy’s End, published with Lankelly Chase.

This event is part of Being Human Festival, the UK’s national festival of the humanities, taking place 5-14 November 2026. Led by the School of Advanced Study, University of London, in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy. For further information please see beinghumanfestival.org.

Image courtesy of Justin Brown and Asha Sitarz.