

The Poetry Pharmacy Returns with William Sieghart and Sarah Dunant
Accidental Pharmacy
- William Sieghart's Poetry Pharmacy idea originated unexpectedly at Port Eliot Literary Festival.
- He was asked to prescribe poems for people's problems, realizing poetry's power to soothe.
Poetry as Solace
- People turn to poetry for solace and a sense of shared experience, especially during difficult times.
- Poetry offers a sense of complicity and understanding, like a secular liturgy.
Initial Resistance to Poetry
- Sarah Dunant initially disliked poetry due to negative school experiences.
- She found it dense and inaccessible, preferring transparent and elegant language.

















































William Sieghart’s The Poetry Pharmacy: Tried-and-True Prescriptions for the Heart, Mind and Soul was one of the publishing sensations of the past few years. Anyone who came to the event Intelligence Squared built around it – when Jeanette Winterson, Helena Bonham Carter, Jason Isaacs, Sue Perkins and Tom Burke joined Sieghart in celebrating the power of poetry – will remember what a magical evening it was. Now, after huge demand, Sieghart is back with a second volume – The Poetry Pharmacy Returns – and once again Intelligence Squared brought it to all to life on stage. Whether your spiritual ailment is loneliness, heartache or anxiety, Sieghart has a poem to meet your needs. He was joined in conversation by acclaimed novelist and broadcaster Sarah Dunant. With their signature warmth and wit, they discussed poems from the new book, each one matched to a particular problem, whether it’s unrequited love, fear of the unknown or feeling daunted by the challenges of family life. And we had a stellar cast of actors to perform the poems: Dominic West, Nina Sosanya, Greta Scacchi and Martha West. The event was chaired by author, playwright and broadcaster Bonnie Greer.
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