David Byrne's Library
18 August – 13 September 2015
Legendary musician David Byrne was the curator of Meltdown 2015, and as part of the festival we hosted a reading lounge.
This lounge featured more than 250 books from David Byrne’s extensive personal collection, which were available to read and borrow. Some borrowers were lucky enough to get their hands on very limited edition membership cards. Byrne opened the installation alongside former Artistic Director Jude Kelly in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday 17 August 2015.
The books, collected throughout Byrne’s life and career, covered music of all genres and from many different countries and cultures. Some traced the history of music and notation, or the science behind sound – others were by, or about, major musicians.
Each one of them had been read by Byrne and this collaboration gave visitors an insight into the literary works that shaped David’s thoughts and approach to music.
David Byrne’s Library ran at the National Poetry Library from Tuesday 18 August to Sunday 13 September 2015.
For your visit
National Poetry Library Southbank Centre
The National Poetry Library is open six days a week.
Tuesday, 12 noon – 6pm
Wednesday – Sunday, 12 noon – 8pm
Getting here
The National Poetry Library is on Level 5 of our Royal Festival Hall.
Our address is Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX.
The nearest tube stations to us are Waterloo and Embankment; Waterloo is also the nearest train station. And more than 20 different London bus routes pass within 500 metres of our venues. More information on getting here by rail, road or river is available on our Getting here page.
We’re cash-free
Please note that we’re unable to accept cash payments across our venues.
Access
We’re working hard to remove barriers, so that our facilities and events can be accessible to as many people as possible.
All help points, toilets, performance and exhibition spaces at the Southbank Centre are accessible to all, as are the cafes, bars and restaurants. We also have excellent public transport links with step-free access.
All information about booking wheelchair spaces, step-free access, blue badge parking, access maps and guides and other help available whilst you’re here, including details about our Access Scheme, can be found on our Access page.
Study & library use
The library is London’s only space dedicated to poetry study. Visitors studying another subject or looking for a place to work are kindly asked to find an alternative space in the Royal Festival Hall.
