Talk
"No one exists alone": Henry Moore and W.H. Auden’s Graphic Encounters
15:00
Studios & Gardens, Hertfordshire
£10
Join us for a reading of Auden’s poems, followed by a discussion of Moore and Auden’s relationship.
In 1972, Henry Moore and the writer W.H. Auden began collaborating on an illustrated portfolio of poems from across Auden’s career. Moore said of the visual component of the project, that he decided not to illustrate, but to complement and create contrasts to Auden’s words.
The resulting publication, Auden Poems, Moore Lithographs, was completed after Auden’s death in September 1973. It contains some of Moore’s finest, but also most mysterious graphic work: figures and architectural forms veiled in darkness, and cracked, barren landscapes.
In this event, introduced by Tom Laver (Digital Collections Assistant, Henry Moore Studios & Gardens ), readings of Auden’s poems by Michael Symmons Roberts (poet, writer and broadcaster) will be presented in parallel with visuals of Moore’s illustrations, followed by a discussion of the new meanings from the encounter between two of the twentieth century’s pre-eminent creative visionaries.
Tickets
Tickets to this event are £10. You need to have an annual ticket in order to attend.
- If you already have an annual ticket, just come along on the day and bring your annual ticket with you.
- If you don’t have an annual ticket, you can buy one online or from the ticket desk when you arrive.
An annual ticket lets you return to Studios & Gardens as often as you like, during open season, for 12 calendar months.
About the speaker
Michael Symmons Roberts
Michael Symmons Roberts is a British poet, writer and broadcaster. His poetry has won the Forward Prize, the Costa Poetry Prize and the Whitbread Poetry Award, and been shortlisted for the Griffin International Poetry Prize and the T.S. Eliot Prize. He has received major awards from the Arts Council and the Society of Authors. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and of the English Association.
His continuing collaboration with composer James MacMillan has led to two BBC Proms choral commissions, song cycles, music theatre works and operas for the Royal Opera House, Scottish Opera, Boston Lyric Opera and Welsh National Opera. Their WNO commission – The Sacrifice – won the RPS Award for opera, and their Royal Opera House / Scottish Opera commission – Clemency – was nominated for an Olivier Award.
His broadcast work includes the BBC4 verse film Men Who Sleep in Cars, described by the Observer as “a work of genius”; A Fearful Symmetry for Radio 4, which won the Sandford St Martin Prize; and Last Words, commissioned by Radio 4 to mark the first anniversary of 9/11.
Roberts has published two novels, and is Professor of Poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University. His latest book, A Quartet for the End of Time, was published on 17 April 2025 to critical acclaim.
Encounters
16 April – 2 November 2025
This season at Henry Moore Studios & Gardens, we’re celebrating the inspiring and transformative encounters between Henry Moore and the people, objects and ideas in his orbit.
We’ll be holding a series of talks, open archives and film screenings, as well as a daily programme of free creative activities for families.
Find out more about this season’s events
Getting here
We’re located just 27 miles north of London in the beautiful Hertfordshire countryside.
Our 2025 visitor season runs from 16 April to 2 November. We’re open Wednesday to Sunday, 11:00–17:00.
Henry Moore Studios & Gardens
Perry Green
Hertfordshire
SG10 6EE
United Kingdom
T: 01279 843 333
E: visitorservices@henry-moore.org
