Poetry is the perfect medication against some of life’s challenges, so William Sieghart has found. In this accessible and warming exchange, from tea towel poems to T.S. Eliot, Sieghart brings to life a few of the experiences that inspired his book ‘The poetry pharmacy: Tried-and-True Prescriptions for the Heart, Mind and Soul’. Here he has collected poems that can each serve a different need: fear of the unknown, unrequited love, stagnation, purposelessness, convalescence and oppression, to name a few. Joining Sieghart in conversation are actor Helena Bonham Carter, author Jeanette Winterson, comedian Sue Perkins, actor Jason Isaacs, and actor Tom Burke along with journalist Sarah Montague as your host for the night. Together they explore poetry’s remarkable ability to calm, console and, above all, connect us to the minds and experiences of others. This event was recorded on the 2nd March 2018, in London and Produced by Executive Producer Hannah Kaye — We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be about. Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to [email protected] or Tweet us at @intelligence2. At Intelligence Squared we’ve got our own online streaming platform, Intelligence Squared+ and we’d love you to give it a go. It’s packed with more than 20 years’ worth of video debates and conversations on the world’s most important topics as well as exclusive podcast content. Tune in to live events, ask your questions or watch on-demand, totally ad-free with hours of discussion to dive into. Visit intelligencesquaredplus.com to start watching today

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