London Literary Salons

Today I'm pleased to welcome author Helen Smith to Terry's Place. Helen is a novelist and playwright who lives in London. She loves going to literary salons.

There have always been literary events of some kind or another in London, where I live. On any given night I know I can be sure of getting a live literature fix, whether it’s from a poetry reading, a slam poetry event, a spoken word performance, a book signing, an author Q&A – there’s a huge variety of events in formats to suit all tastes, from conventional to quirky, from high-brow to low-brow, from brilliant to hit-and-miss.

Just lately London has seen the resurgence of the literary salon. Say the words and I see silk turbans and peacock feathers, I see bustles, fans and piano fortes: I remember reading as a child about the literary salons of the nineteenth century in England: they were a way for society hostesses to show off fashionable novelists, essayists and poets to admiring guests. Careers could be made at these events, patrons snapped up, and literary heroes assessed and admired, or dismissed. The only problem with any of this was that you had to be well-connected in order to secure an invitation. If the modern day counterparts were to be run along the same lines, I couldn’t hope to attend to mingle with today’s literary giants.

Fortunately the new literary salons are egalitarian events, hosted by writers rather than social-climbing heiresses. The hosts take their duties seriously: the primary aim is to entertain the audience by showcasing talent as selected writers talk about and read from their books, and great care are is taken to create an intimate, friendly atmosphere. Though the writers will need to be able to perform in order to engage the audience, it isn’t quite a ‘show, and though it’s a lot of fun, it isn’t quite a party. Perhaps most importantly, the successful event feels less like a promotion than a conversation.