Boring Talks

An evening celebrating the mundane, the ordinary, the obvious and the overlooked

The world is full of events and conferences that promise to change your life. Boring Talks won't do that. It's an evening celebrating the mundane, the ordinary, the obvious and the overlooked; subjects often considered trivial and pointless, but when examined more closely reveal themselves to be deeply fascinating. 

Based on the annual Boring Conference, Boring Talks returns to the British Library following its first sell-out event in November 2017. The evening features a selection of expert speakers talking passionately (but not too passionately) about subjects sitting on the intersection between the ubiquitous and the obscure. 

'What we need to question is bricks, concrete, glass, our table manners, our utensils, our tools, the way we spend our time, our rhythms. To question that which seems to have ceased forever to astonish us' wrote Georges Perec in 1973. This event is a clumsy attempt to address that challenge. The theme for the second Boring Talks event is 'Boring Lives.' This event focuses on our daily routines: the food we eat, the journeys we make, the places we work, the words we use. Some of these, if not all, will be addressed at this event.

Nothing of any importance will be discussed. The event is a waste of time and money. There are lots of other things you could be doing instead.

Image: Motspur Park Station © James Ward

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