What do music and poetry have to do with the divine?

How have different cultures and religions used the arts to explore spirituality?

How did the great Persian and Indian poets and musicians formulate their practice?

How have music and poetry been used to subvert and reinforce systems of control and oppression?

Do we briefly reach the divine when we listen to the right music?

Join us on July 8th at MULTI STORY to discuss this all :)

Dr William Rees Hofmann is a Research Associate in the South Asian Studies Unit at the Institute of Ismaili Studies. His research explores the connected textual and musical traditions of Nizārī Ismā‘īlī, Sufi, and Bhakti devotion in early modern Gujarat, Rajasthan, and the Deccan, as well as histories of musical knowledge in South Asia and larger histories of emotion and the senses. William is also a multi-instrumentalist and composer specialising in both the Indian Sarod and the Afghan Rubab, and is the director of Ensemble Ḳhusrawi, an Indo-Persian musical ensemble.

Dr Ankur Barua is Senior Lecturer in Hindu Studies at the Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge. His fields of research are Vedantic theology, philosophical anthropology, and religious interactions in South Asia. He integrates into his pedagogic styles devotional music from Bollywood, Rabindranath Tagore, Nazrul Islam, and the Bauls.

Tagore's Salon is a London-based literary event series platforming translated and underrepresented writing and cultural output.

Live and Lit returns for another amazing night of Spoken Word Poetry, Open Mic, Painting and live band.

Join us for a special night of spoken word poetry behind a smooth live band. Enjoy more vibes after with RnB, Hip hop and garage sounds with one of the best DJs in London.

Paint during the show by purchasing additional painting tickets. Painting tickets come with a seat, supplies and a canvas.

Great food and amazing cocktails at the venue.

Doors open and open mic sign up from 6:30. Limited spots available.

Show starts around 7pm

If you have bought a painting ticket, it's recommended you arrive before 7 pm

The last show was amazing, this night will be even better

Follow us on IG

https://www.instagram.com/livenlitty - @livenlitty

How can fiction immortalise stories of migration that might otherwise go untold? How do decay and dystopia illustrate settler colonialism and displacement? What is the role of gender, womanhood and motherhood in depicting intergenerational trauma and domestic violence across continents How can writing transport us to different countries, continents, hellscapes, and paradises? How do we write pain? Love? Loss of community? Identity?

Join Tina Makereti (THE MIRES, Footnote Press, 2025), and Saraid de Silva (AMMA, Weatherglass Books, 2024), in conversation with Tagore's Salon to cover these questions, drawing from the themes of the authors award-winning works.

Footnote Press is an award-winning publisher of marginalised stories and perspectives.

Tagore’s Salon is a London-based organisation curating and producing events on translated and underrepresented writing.

MULTI STORY is a multi-use space in the heart of Peckham Levels, hosting supporting, and celebrating a wide range of events, projects, and people.

General admission £8

Unwaged/low income £5

If you’d like to come but can’t afford a ticket, please email bookings@tagoressalon.co.uk