Leeds Salon

Re-enlightening debate

Next Event: In Defence of Poetry, with TS Eliot Prize winning poet George Szirtes, Ronan McDonald, academic and author of The Death of the Critic, poet Andrew McMillan, author of Every Salt Advance (2009) and teacher and education writer Michele Ledda, 10 March 2010, 6.15-8.30 pm, The Carriageworks, Millennium Square, Leeds.

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In Defence of Poetry

A joint event with Cadaverine Magazine & The Poetry Business

Wednesday 10 March 2010, 6:15pm (for a 6:30 start) to 8:30pm

Conference Room 1, The Carriageworks, Millennium Square, Leeds, LS2 3AD.

Following the censoring of Carol Ann Duffy's poem Education for Leisure from the school curriculum, poets, critics, teachers and students will debate the significance of this ban.

Should children be protected from controversial literature? Should works be studied because of their literary merit or as springboards to discuss particular issues? Should students be taught to analyse poems in order to understand their meaning or should they be asked to provide a personal response? How important should poetry be in teaching English? Who should determine the content of the school curriculum and according to what criteria? What are the roles of the poet, the critic, the teacher and the reader in upholding the importance of poetry? And what, if any, is the role of government?

Special Announcements

Cafe Scientifique Headingley have invited previous Salon speaker Jeremy Taylor to discuss his recent book Not a Chimp: The hunt for the genes that make us human.

Tuesday 30 March 2010, New Headingley Club, 56 St Michael's Road, Leeds, 7:45pm - 9:30pm.

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For those interested in lively and inspiring debate, the regional finals of the Institute of Ideas' sixth-form Debating Matters competition 2009/10 are taking place nationally betwen 24 February and 26 April.

Of particular interest to those in Leeds and the North may be North East & Yorkshire Regional Final - The School of Arts & Social Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, Thursday 22 April; which includes schools from Bradford and Harrogate.

All events are free and open to the public, although seats need to be reserved. For further details, and the full list of Regional FInals click here.

Freedom in a Puritan Age

Leeds Salon has joined with the online journal Freedom in a Puritan Age to provide a site of effective debate.

Established early 2009 by Danny Broderick, Wes Brown and Katherine Sansom, FIPA is a project in free enquiry: a rejoinder to the aping of freedoms, to received opinion and dogmatic liberalism. A rant against that which is cruel, humourless or boring.

FIPA aims to identify countervailing currents in progressive thought within our culture and provide alternative viewpoints on issues of importance.

Latest Articles:

Older articles:

Reflection on a visit to Shderot, by Yvonne Green

The Case of Tzipi Livni, by Sean McHale

Puzzled in Gaza, by Yvonne Green

Submissions and correspondence are invited, and can be sent to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Also feel free to contact FIPA with a draft or pre-draft proposal for an article.

Leeds Salon in the News

Following the June event, BBC Leeds got in touch for a chat about Leeds Salon. Read the interview with Salon Co-organiser Paul Thomas at BBC Leeds, Keep Talking ...