European Literary London Walking Tour

For centuries, writers have come to London from across Europe and beyond – as honoured guests and anonymous aliens; tourists and refugees; students and wanderers. In the squalid slums of the East End, in the glitter and glamour of Belgravia, in the unspoilt expanse of Hampstead Heath, these writers lose – and – find themselves. Their encounters with the city leave a mark: on the writer, on their work and, sometimes, on London itself.

As part of the European Writers’ Festival, held at the British Library on 18-19 May, UCL European Institute is curating a ‘European Literary London Walk’: a wander through the London neighbourhood of Bloomsbury. Along the way, we will read and explore the city through the texts of European artists, authors, musicians, poets, philosophers and scientists, who have – across centuries and districts, genres and viewpoints – encountered London and were transformed by it.

The walk, inspired by the European Literary Map of London, will take place on Friday 17^th May, 3.30-5pm. We commence at the British Library Foyer and end on the UCL Bloomsbury Campus. There, you can explore the Lost & Found: Mapping European Literary London Exhibition, which has brought the European Literary Map of London to life in real time and space. 

Curated by UCL European Institute, UCL Arts & Humanities and UCL CASA. N.B. This walk is run as a pilot for European writers here for the European Writers' Festival and EUNIC members. All available tickets have been allocated.

Photo by Louis Cheuk on Unsplash