The RSL is taking bookings from Members and Fellows only. This event is free and open to all. Entry, for non-RSL Members, on a first come first served basis. 

Some of the most significant scientific theories of the nineteenth century were developed using evidence from popular science publications and correspondence with the public. Over the past century, the emergence of ‘citizen science’ has suggested a new way forward. As poet in residence of the AHRC-funded project ‘Constructing Scientific Communities: Citizen Science in the 19th and 21st  Centuries’, Don Paterson has written new work interrogating the creation and circulation of knowledge in a digital age. In this event, Don reads sections from a long poem evolved from working with researchers on innovative ways of breaking through the professional/public divide in knowledge forming. As well as performing his own music, Don will be accompanied by acclaimed guitarist Graeme Stephen, whose music is informed by a wide array of styles, from free improvised jazz to Scottish folk. Don and Graeme will explore where poetry and scientific research meet, asking how we know what we know.