In this 90 minute workshop, participants will be introduced to the poetry of Sir Humphry Davy (1778-1829).

Best known for his miners’ safety lamp, Davy also wrote poetry throughout his life, though much of it remained unpublished at his death. Nearly 4000 volunteers from around the world have transcribed 11, 212 pages of Davy’s manuscript notebooks held in the Royal Institution in London (https://digitalcollections.lancaster.ac.uk/collections/davy/1).

In this workshop, we will read some of these poems and discuss them, examining the many ways in which the arts and sciences come together in Davy’s work.

This event is part of the 2025 Festival of Libraries.