WELCOME
The Swedenborg Society is a publisher, library and bookshop. We organize events: lectures, conferences, exhibitions, performances and film screenings; and we print a large selection of literature relating to the work of the philosopher, scientist, inventor, astronomer, mathematician, parliamentary figure and visionary, Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772). The Society's grade II listed premises in Bloomsbury are also available for private hire.
A complete catalogue of Swedenborg's works can be viewed by clicking bookshop, and if you are interested in hiring a room or a hall in Bloomsbury central London, see room hire. Most of our activities and events are free, and all are open to the public; but if you become a member you also receive a regualr newsletter and a 20% discount on books and on entry to all paid-for events.
EVENTS | exhibition & book launch
23 February 2012 | 6 - 9 pm | Swedenborg House | Free Admission
On Thursday 23rd February the Society will host a site-specific exhibition throughout Swedenborg House, showcasing objects in the Swedenborg archive. REMNANTS is curated by Jan Evans, with the assistance of Alex Murray and James Wilson; its opening is organized in conjunction with the launch of the Swedenborg library online catalogue. The Society will also host the launch of A History of the Swedenborg Society 1810 - 2010 by Richard Lines (South Vale Press, 2012). Refreshments will be served, everyone is welcome, but capacity is limited so please RSVP!
BOOKS | news
BLAKE'S LONDON: THE TOPOGRAPHIC SUBLIME by Iain Sinclair is now available to download for KINDLE e-reader on Amazon.co.uk. In this small and specially-designed volume, Iain Sinclair takes the reader on a discursive journey through BLAKE’S LONDON showing how, in Blake’s vast and rich poetry, language and imagination conjoin to delineate a profound engagement with place. First delivered as a lecture at Swedenborg Hall on Friday 2nd Nov, 2007, this revised text is the perfect introduction to Blake’s singular experience of the city, his relation to Swedenborg, and to a visionary tradition of poets from John Clare to Allen Ginsberg.
This volume is available to download electronically and is also printed as a limited-edition pocket hardback. It is the first in series of volumes edited by Stephen McNeilly making available talks, photographs and and other items from the Swedenborg Archive. BUY THIS BOOK.
BOOKS | shop
The online bookshop is now live! You can buy all of our publications - and other books related to Swedenborg and his influence - by clicking here. We try to stock a comprehensive and constantly evolving range of literature - reflective of Swedenborg’s fascinating ideas and their cultural importance.
Browse our collection for the complete works of Emanuel Swedenborg; the Swedenborg Society Journals, exploring Swedenborg’s ideas and influence in their many contexts; reference material and biographies of Swedenborg; and a number of introductory books.
EVENTS | hire
The Swedenborg Society offers competitive rates for meeting space in Central London. Swedenborg House is a grade II listed 18th century townhouse, situated on the edge of Bloomsbury. Three of its function rooms are available for hire, 9 am - 10 pm Monday to Friday and 9 am - 6 pm on Saturday.
You do NOT need to be a member of the Society to hire a room. The following institutions, among many others, hire our rooms on a regular basis: Kingston University; Faber & Faber; Oxford University Press; Society for Theatre Research; Society of Young Publishers; The Biographers’ Club; Timeline Auctions; Wagner Society; BBC television.
Find more information and hire rates here. If you need to enquire about availability, please contact Richard via richard@swedenborg.org.uk.
NEWS | staff blog
The website now features two regular staff blogs from the Society: by Alex Murray (assistant librarian) and Holly Catling (publishing intern). Alex is a recent graduate in English Literature & Film Studies and our assistant librarian; he is involved in creating a systematic database for the library collection, which will soon be available online. Read Alex's blog, detailing his discoveries from the Society's fascinating Archive, here. Holly graduated from Cambridge University in 2008 with a degree in English Literature; she went on to complete an MSc in International Politics at SOAS, University of London, and is currently gaining work experience in the Society's publishing office. Read her first impressions of the Society and her experience of e-publishing here.