Lindsey Hilsum | Stories and Poems from the Front Line

Sun 27 Apr 2025 | 8:00pm - 9:00pm

Lindsey Hilsum
Lindsey Hilsum book
Alex Clark

For nearly four decades, Channel 4 News International Editor Lindsey Hilsum has reported from the frontlines of history, covering conflicts from Rwanda and Kosovo to Palestine and Ukraine. Throughout her career, she has always carried a book of poetry, finding solace and meaning in verse amid the horrors of war. In Ukraine, she began tweeting a poem a day, and to her surprise, people read, shared, and asked for more—revealing a deep, universal need for poetry in times of crisis.

In this special event, Lindsey shares a selection of her favourite poems, from ancient to modern, by writers across the world. Alongside each, she recounts powerful memories from her work: interviewing Bosnian warlords, meeting child soldiers in Uganda, and giving testimony in Rwanda. With her signature blend of sharp insight, dark humour, and deep humanity, she reflects on the comic absurdity, unexpected love, and lasting scars of war—long after the cameras have gone.

Join Lindsey for an evening of poetry and reflection, as she explores the pity of war—and its fatal attraction.

In conversation with Alex Clark

Venue: TTP Stage (Cambridge Union)

Duration: 1 hour

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  Lindsey Hilsum | Stories and Poems from the Front Line Full Price
8pm | 27 April | TTP Stage (Cambridge Union)
£17
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  Lindsey Hilsum | Stories and Poems from the Front Line Concession (U25s, unwaged and those feeling the pinch)
8pm | 27 April | TTP Stage (Cambridge Union)
£10
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Author Biography

Lindsey Hilsum is the International Editor for Channel 4 News. Her book, In Extremis: the Life of War Correspondent Marie Colvin won the 2019 James Tait Black Prize for biography. Recently she has reported on the war in Ukraine, Sudan and Israel/Gaza. She has covered the major conflicts and refugee movements of the past three decades, including Afghanistan, Syria, Mali, Iraq and Kosovo. From 2006-8 she was based in China, and in 1994 was the only English-speaking foreign correspondent in Rwanda as the genocide started. She has won many awards, including the Royal Television Society Journalist of the Year and the Royal Geographical Society Patron’s Medal. She contributes regularly to newspapers and literary magazines. Her first book was Sandstorm: Libya in the Time of Revolution.

Chair Biography

Alex Clark is a broadcaster and journalist, who writes for many publications including the Guardian, the Observer, and the Times Literary Supplement. She was the co-host on the Graham Norton Book Club for Audible and hosts the TLS podcast. She is a professional chairperson and appears all over the UK at Cheltenham, Hay and the Southbank Centre. Alex is a festival honorary patron and now lives in Ireland.