Live in the Archive: Iris Murdoch and the poems in the attic (In person)
Live in the Archive is a collaboration between The London Library and Curtis Brown Heritage to celebrate some of the greatest literary stars in our combined history. This time, we’ll be turning our attention to Iris Murdoch, who is best known as the author of fiercely intelligent novels and groundbreaking philosophy, but, as a new publication reveals, she was also a poet.
Poems from an Attic is a new collection of Murdoch’s previously unseen poetry, found in 2016 in a battered black chest in the dusty attic of her Oxford home and now published for the first time.
These tightly wrought, vivid poems reveal a new, deeply personal account, in Murdoch’s own voice, of her radical life, intense friendships, relationships with both men and women and the preoccupations closest to her heart, from the state of Ireland to memories of a first love lost in the Second World War. Exquisitely crafted, passionate and full of musicality, these are revelatory poems about romance and friendship, jealousy and commitment and love in all its shades.
Author and critic Leo Robson, Murdoch scholar and co-editor of the collection Anne Rowe and poet Richard Scott talk to writer, broadcaster and Murdoch affionado Bidisha, about the poems and what they tell us about Murdoch’s life, her writing and her still evolving legacy, interwoven with readings of the poetry from internationally renowned actor Olivia Williams.
Leo Robson is a journalist and author. He is a contributing editor at Granta and assistant editor at Literary Review. His writing on culture and sport has appeared in a wide range of publications, including the New Statesman, the New Left Review, the London Review of Books and the New Yorker. His novel, The Boys, came out with Quercus in 2025.
Anne Rowe is Visiting Professor with the Iris Murdoch Research Centre at the University of Chichester and Emeritus Research Fellow at Kingston University. She has published widely on Iris Murdoch, including Iris Murdoch and the Visual Arts (2002), Iris Murdoch: Writers and their Work (2019) and, most recently, as an editor of Poems from an Attic by Iris Murdoch, published by Chatto & Windus in 2025.
Richard Scott is the author of two poetry collections: Soho (Faber & Faber, 2018) and, most recently, That Broke into Shining Crystals (Faber & Faber, 2025). He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Olivia Williams is a multi-award winning actor, whose television credits include Friends, The Crown and Dune: Prophecy; film credits included Rushmore (Wes Anderson), Sixth Sense (M Night Shyamalan), The Ghost (Roman Polanski) and Hanna (Joe Wright); and for the stage: Happy Now?, Waste, Mosquitoes and Tartuffe at The National Theatre, In a Forest Dark and Deep at the Garrick Theatre and Scenes From a Marriage at St James’s Theatre. *Olivia will appear subject to scheduling availability.
Bidisha is a broadcaster, presenter and journalist. She covers the arts and culture and current affairs for the BBC, CNN, Channel 5 and Sky News. Her most recent publication is the essay The Future of Serious Art.
Curtis Brown Heritage represents the literary estates of many of the best writers of the 20th century, from national treasures such as AA Milne, Gerald Durrell, CLR James and Douglas Adams to literary greats such as Daphne du Maurier, Elizabeth Bowen, Fay Weldon and Iain M Banks. Part of the Curtis Brown Group, it celebrated 125 years of the agency in 2024.
Books by Iris Murdoch and the speakers, including Poems from an Attic, will be available to buy at the event and online from our partner bookshop Hatchards.
This event will take place in person at The London Library. Doors (and the bar) will open at 6.30pm for a 7pm start. Please see our Event Access Guidelines before you arrive.
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