Booker Prize winner, art critic and poet John Berger was a Hackney resident and friend of CLR James, Dalston library’s namesake, and Ken Worpole and Farrukh Dhondy will join us for the evening to speak of their memories of their friendship. We will also be joined by Berger’s biographer, Tom Overton, who has edited several collections on Berger’s work.

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Ken Worpole is a writer and social historian, and author of books on architecture, landscape and public policy. A long-standing resident and writer about Hackney, he has more recently pursued a particular interest in the social history and landscape of 20th century Essex, and its connection to London's East End. The New Statesman observed recently that: ‘Worpole is a literary original, a social and architectural historian whose books combine the Orwellian ideal of common decency with understated erudition.’

Farrukh Dhondy was born in Poona India and after school and college came on a scholarship to Cambridge and went on to establish himself as a writer of journalism, fiction, non-fiction, TV, stage plays and several films. In a post-graduate year in Leicester, living in the Asian enclave of the city, he joined the Indian Workers’ Association and then in London, the British Black Panther Movement and subsequently the radial Race Today Collective, both of whose politics were guided by the writings and presence of Trinidadian Marxist philosopher CLR James. When John Berger won the Booker prize for his novel G, he donated half the prize money to the Black Panther Movement in support of its activism and Berger’s cheque for the donation was signed to Farrukh who collected it from John over a drink. The donation was used as a deposit for a house that became the BPM headquarters.

Tom Overton is writing John Berger's biography. He catalogued Berger’s archive at the British Library, and edited the collections Portraits: John Berger on Artists, Landscapes: John Berger on Art and, with Matthew Harle, The Underground Sea: John Berger on Miners and the Miners' Strike.