On 15 October 2025 6:00pm
Robert Seatter was the first ever poet in residence at Kelmscott Manor, the ‘heaven on earth’ retreat of William Morris from 1871 to 1896. Out of his residency came The House of Words, a unique collection of poems exploring the diverse themes of the house from creativity and making to love and desire, as well as probing the deeper question of what Morris’s legacy means to the England of now, struggling to define itself between the pull of the past and the invitation of the future.
Join Robert on a captivating tour of this atmospheric house, featuring poems inspired by its objects and spaces, as well as collaborative artworks created by artist Jessica Palmer who worked with Robert on a joint Summer of Creativity outreach project at Kelmscott Manor.Robert Seatter is an experienced performer and poet, as well as a broadcaster and history author. He has published eight poetry collections from Seren/Two Rivers Press/Paekakiriki Press, the latest of which are My Lover as Houdini and The House of Words. He has won numerous awards and prizes for his writing including Forward Poetry Prize, National Poetry Competition, London Poetry Competition and Housman Poetry Prize.. His work has been featured on TV, Radio, and even the London buses. He was Chairman of The Poetry Trust which ran the acclaimed Aldeburgh Poetry Festival, and is currently Chairman of The Poetry Archive. He is based in London where he works as Head of BBC History. In 2022 he published Broadcasting Britain: 100 years of the BBC for the Corporation’s centenary, as well as presenting a major linked series on Radio 4. www.robertseatter.co.uk
