# Event Details - **Event Name**: Awake! - A Talk by Mark Vernon - **Event Start and End Date**: Thu, 22 Jan, 2026 at 06:30 pm – Thu, 22 Jan, 2026 at 08:00 pm - **Event Description**: Join Mark Vernon as he discusses his new book 'Awake! - William Blake and the Power of the Imagination'About this EventThe psychotherapist, writer and former Anglican priest Mark Vernon discusses his new book Awake! with the Dean of Southwark.In the 200 years since Blake’s death, the visionary artist, poet and writer has become a household name, often beloved. Yet many struggle to comprehend his kaleidoscopic ideas; how they speak to human longings and the challenges of living in anxious times. A new book by writer and psychotherapist Mark Vernon, Awake! William Blake and the Power of the Imagination provides a fresh route into Blake. Exploring this brilliant thinker’s passionate writings, arresting artworks and fascinating life, Vernon illuminates Blake’s vivid message. Like us, he lived in a tumultuous era of war, discontent, rapid technological change, and human estrangement from nature. He exposed the dark sides of political fervour and social moralising. And he also conversed with prophets and angels, and was powerfully Christian and religious. If we take this seriously—not easy, in secular times—then Blake can help us to unlock the transformative power of imagination. "The best overall study of Blake I have encountered in a very long time,” says Rowan Williams.Mark Vernon is is a London-based psychotherapist, writer and former Anglican priest. A keen podcaster and a columnist with The Idler, he speaks regularly at festivals and on the BBC. He has a PhD in Philosophy, and degrees in Theology and Physics. His previous book topics include Dante’s Divine Comedy, Owen Barfield and the mystical significance of Jesus and Christianity.The Very Rev’d Dr Mark Oakley is Dean of Southwark. Formerly Dean of St John’s College, Cambridge, and Chancellor of St Paul’s Cathedral, he is an author of several books on poetry and theology. He was awarded the international Michael Ramsey Prize for theological writing for his book The Splash of Words: Believing in Poetry, and the Lanfranc Award by the Archbishop of Canterbury for education and scholarship. He has worked at the Actors’ Church in Covent Garden as Rector and has a strong interest in theatre. He is also Patron of Tell MAMA, monitoring Islamophobic hate crime, and Ambassador for Stop Hate UK. In 2025 he was appointed Whitelands Professorial Fellow in Christian Theology and Contemporary Issues by Roehampton University.This talk is in-person only and won't be streamed or recorded. Doors to the Cathedral Library will open at 6.15pm. https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events1/banners/988dd100-b682-11f0-9d7c-1d24a935f522-rimg-w481-h740-dcda5b42-gmir.jpg https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events8/banners/98f45b00-b682-11f0-9743-6fdd05a2854c-rimg-w1200-h685-dc7d7d72-gmir.jpg - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/london/awake-a-talk-by-mark-vernon/100001777827031509 - **Event Categories**: art, literary-art, theatre, festivals, comedy - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 0 - **Event Highlights**: - Age Limit: under_16_with_guardian - door_time: 2026-04-09T17:15:00Z - Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes - Location: Southwark Cathedral - Languages: English ## Ticket Details - **Ticket Price Range**: min: 6.32, max: 6.32, currency: GBP ## Event venue details - **city**: London - **state**: EN - **country**: United Kingdom - **location**: Southwark Cathedral - **lat**: 51.5061009 - **long**: -0.08959579999998368 - **full address**: Southwark Cathedral, Southwark Cathedral, London, United Kingdom ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: Awake! - A Talk by Mark Vernon - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events7/banners/cd5f96400c52fcd2c39c2c58237a204b4114323cb6941eebbed521aad4b574c2-rimg-w1200-h1846-dcd35b2f-gmir.jpg?v=1769385633 ## FAQs - **Q**: When and where is Awake! - A Talk by Mark Vernon being held? - **A:** Awake! - A Talk by Mark Vernon takes place on Thu, 22 Jan, 2026 at 06:30 pm to Thu, 22 Jan, 2026 at 08:00 pm at Southwark Cathedral, Southwark Cathedral, London, United Kingdom. - **Q**: How much do tickets cost for Awake! - A Talk by Mark Vernon? - **A:** Tickets for Awake! - A Talk by Mark Vernon are priced at GBP 6 per person. Here's a full breakdown of available ticket types:Ticket TypePriceAvailabilityGeneral Admission to the LibraryGBP 6 + GBP 0 feeAvailable - **Q**: Who is organizing Awake! - A Talk by Mark Vernon? - **A:** Awake! - A Talk by Mark Vernon is organized by Southwark Cathedral. - **Q**: Who is this event for? Is it right for me? - **A:** Awake! - A Talk by Mark Vernon is ideal for art lovers, collectors, creatives, and anyone inspired by visual arts, installations, and exhibitions. Whether you're a first-time attendee or a longtime enthusiast in London, this event is thoughtfully curated to deliver a standout experience worth every moment. If Awake! - A Talk by Mark Vernon sounds like your kind of event, don't wait - spots fill up fast. ## Structured Data (JSON-LD) ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Event", "name": "Awake! - A Talk by Mark Vernon", "image": "https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events7/banners/cd5f96400c52fcd2c39c2c58237a204b4114323cb6941eebbed521aad4b574c2-rimg-w1200-h1846-dcd35b2f-gmir.jpg?v=1769385633", "startDate": "2026-01-22", "endDate": "2026-01-22", "url": "https://allevents.in/london/awake-a-talk-by-mark-vernon/100001777827031509", "location": { "@type": "Place", "name": "Southwark Cathedral", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "Southwark Cathedral", "postalCode": "SE1 9DA", "addressLocality": "London", "addressRegion": "EN", "addressCountry": "GB" }, "geo": { "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": "51.5061009", "longitude": "-0.08959579999998368" } }, "eventAttendanceMode": "https://schema.org/OfflineEventAttendanceMode", "description": "Join Mark Vernon as he discusses his new book 'Awake! - William Blake and the Power of the Imagination'", "offers": [ { "@type": "AggregateOffer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "GBP", "availabilityStarts": "2026-04-16", "availabilityEnds": "2026-01-22", "validFrom": "2026-04-16", "lowPrice": "6.32", "highPrice": "6.32", "price": "6.32", "url": "https://allevents.in/london/awake-a-talk-by-mark-vernon/100001777827031509" }, { "@type": "Offer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "GBP", "availabilityStarts": "2026-04-16", "availabilityEnds": "", "validFrom": "2026-04-16", "url": "https://allevents.in/london/awake-a-talk-by-mark-vernon/100001777827031509", "price": "6.32", "name": "General Admission to the Library" } ], "organizer": [ { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Southwark Cathedral", "url": "https://allevents.in/org/southwark-cathedral/22529645", "description": "Southwark Cathedral has been a place of Christian worship for over 1000 years. Established as a small convent, it grew over the centuries into a priory, which became a parish church and then, in 1905, the Cathedral for the newly created Diocese of Southwark which serves the whole of London south of the river.The Cathedral’s patchwork architecture bears testament to its past as do the many monuments and memorials inside and outside the church. These are reminders of the rich history of this part of London and our association with such major figures in our creative history, including Chaucer, Shakespeare and Dickens.Southwark Cathedral is a place of worship, welcome and friendship, to rejoice in or find rest when you’re weary. We are London’s community Cathedral striving to live the example of Jesus, seeking to be a spiritual home for all and set at the heart of Bankside, buzzing with people and activity, a vibrant cultural and commercial destination." } ] } ] ```