‘What is the price of Experience? do men buy it for a song
Or wisdom for a dance in the street? No it is bought with the price
Of all that a man hath, his house his wife his children.’

Poet in the City hosts a cross-arts collaboration to revel in the magic of William Blake’s unfinished work Vala, or the Four Zoas. Intended as a summation of his mythic universe, Blake wrestled with Vala for ten years before abandoning it. Modern voices have since delighted in the text, heralding it his most extraordinary achievement and one of the most important texts in the Romantic canon.

We celebrate this prophetic story of descent, desire and jealousy with a performance of words, music and film devised by Nick Flynn, Noveller and Gabriel Martinez in a one-off chance to experience this exciting all American collaboration. Expect projections of Blake’s prophecies alongside Noveller’s trademark one-woman soundscapes colliding with words from Vala.

Nick Flynn is an American writer, playwright, and poet. He was a Guggenheim Foundation fellow in 2001, and was awarded the PEN/Joyce Osterweil Award for Some Ether. Currently Professor of the Creative Writing faculty at the University of Houston, his most recent collection is My Feelings published by Graywolf in 2015.

Gabriel Martinez is a Philadelphia-based artist working largely with photography, performance and installation. He has participated in several national artistic residencies including The Fabric Workshop, Atlantic Centre for the Arts and Yaddo, New York.

Noveller is the solo electric guitar project of Brooklyn-based composer and filmmaker Sarah Lipstate. Having opened for Iggy Pop on his Post Pop Depression tour, Sarah has also toured with St Vincent, Radiolab, Xiu Xiu, the Jesus Lizard, U.S Girls and Aidan Baker.

Advance tickets are £8 plus booking fee. Click here to buy.