Islington has a rich reputation for inspiring creative spirits, and with World Poetry Day this Friday it’s about time we illuminated the borough’s literary history.
So, cue the music and bring out the lyres, as we look back at the places in Islington where poets have written their place in the literary canon.
John Betjeman
A Poet Laureate and founding member of the charitable Victorian Society, John Betjeman had strong connections to the borough. He grew up at 329 Holloway Road, his family ran a cabinet-making business, G. Betjemann & Sons, which operated from 1810 to 1910 on Pentonville Road.
In 1975, Betjeman opened the Battishill Street Gardens, a grass-laid square with seating and a stone frieze centrepiece rescued from The Hall of Commerce on Threadneedle Street.
Betjeman mentioned Islington in the poem Summoned by the bells (1980) “Slow walks we took on sunny afternoons to great great aunts in tall Italianate Houses: Aberdeen Park, Hilmarton Road and Upper Pooter-Land. Short gravel drives to steepish flights of steps and stained-glass windows in a purple hall, A drawing- room with stands of plotted plants, lace curtains screening other plants beyond.”
William Blake
Known for penning The Songs of Innocence and of Experience, William Blake frequently wrote about his observations of human nature and the need for social justice.
Lovers of Blake’s poetry and prints can visit his grave in the Bunhill Fields Burial Grounds, alongside other famous poets, Daniel Defoe to John Bunyan.
The Fields of Islington to Marybone (1976) by William Blake indicates a lot about the way in which he saw Islington as he described them as being “builded over with pillars of gold”
T.S. Elliot
Born in the US, he moved to England at the age of 25 and over time evolved into one of the most impactful poets of the 20th Century. The poet in fact mentions Islington in the second draft of his famous poem The Wasteland (1922) where he wrote ‘Highbury bore me’ before his wife eventually decided to take it out of his final draft. What could have been!
John Milton
Before he embarked on his career as a poet, Milton was known to stir trouble in English politics. Following the Restoration and Milton’s release from prison, he and his family moved to Bunhill Row in 1663, where he finished Paradise Lost.
Milton lived in Islington until his death in 1674. The cause of his death is unclear but what is clear is that he passed away a few days before his birthday.
Akala
Akala uses spoken-word poetry and rap to reflect on wider social issues. Born and raised in Archway, he attended Acland Burghley School in Tufnell Park. In 2009, he set up the Hip-hop Shakespeare Company at the Almeida Theatre, working with a group of 80 young people under 25 to explore the differences between Shakespeare’s poetry and the contemporary hip-hop.
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Islington-based journalist with experience at the London Evening Standard. Covering local politics, community issues, arts, and development. Focused on delivering clear, accurate reporting on the stories shaping Islington.