Most of her books – NW, On Beauty, White Teeth, and now Swing Time inhabit the thresholds of age, time, and place. Unlike the traditional narrative model, however, life does not contain one moment in which everything changed, or pivots upon, working towards some grand finale. It’s time that she sees as her theme, and ‘there is nothing else.’  “What could she know about the waves of time that simply come at a person, one after the other? What could she know about life as the temporary, always partial, survival of that process?” she writes of Aimee.

In Swing Time there is something else; there’s dance. The universal dance that fills the body with rhythm, everywhere from the markets of Liberia to the kitchens of North West London. The essential quality that seems to be there, somehow, within our bodies and bones. We get on to the idea of a soul. Different philosophical and religious thinkers and models have influenced Zadie, but her belief that ‘we all operate as spiritual beings’ and as though we are more than just blood and bones is not only hard to argue with, but evident when it comes to art.

Her books are acutely detailed, yet deal with the sweeping and essential. They focus on individuals, but those individuals operate within structures that keep them where they are. Structural inequalities anger Zadie, especially given that in her new home of America not everyone has access to the potential for fulfilling their talent. “Poverty is not just a headline, my love, it’s a lived reality, on the ground—and education is at the heart of it.” she writes in Swing Time.

Identity comes up a lot during the conversation. Anthropological, political and collective. Colour is key. A mixed race woman growing up in London and now living in New York could be confused about where they fit in. Biracial children ‘exist at the faultline of identity and this for Zadie is the fascination. How an individual might be compelled to a group, or not follow their ‘birthright.’ How do the structures we live in affect our sense of self, and what is that sense of self. ‘Existence precedes essence,’ she says. We’re thrown into the world, and building tribes of any kind is the only way to get through being an individual with a ‘strange amorphous collection of feelings.’

An intelligent thinker, her essays are a tribute to clear and rational thought. Thought is what drives her. She doesn’t accept. She asks questions. Working through these ideas and inhabiting different characters has a therapeutic quality for her. ‘I get to be my those people for a while, for my own pleasure.’ she says. ‘I’m never happiest than when I’m in the library writing,’ she says.

It might have been twenty years since White Teeth was published, but has Zadie grown? She realises, like her characters, that the delusional optimism of politics in the nineties hasn’t come to fruition, is more solid in her thought around the role of place, and well versed on structure and politics.

But, maybe she’s a teenager at heart.  ‘Novelists don’t lose adolescence,’ she says. ‘We’re always asking “what is the meaning of life?”’ I for one am glad she writes down her answers.

It’s all part of what’s shaping up to be a vibrant and stimulating programme of literary events this year at the Southbank Centre.

John le Carré introduces his new novel, A Legacy of Spies, and iconic Cold War characters whilst author of The Handmaid’s Tale Margaret Atwood reflects on her visionary and dystopian work in the context of the Trump era and the real world it reflects. Along the same theme, Naomi Klein discusses her new book No Is Not Enough which looks at the tactics used to bring Trump into power and what happens next.

Feminism is still a big issue, and Laurie Penny and Rebecca Solnit each present their new essay collections, Bitch Doctrine: Essays for Dissenting Adults, a collection of Penny’s writing which provokes challenging conversations around the definitive social issues of today, and The Mother of All Questions, a piece that aims to open up a feminism for everyone.

The wonderful Zadie Smith reads from her most recent novel Swing Time and discusses writing fiction that responds to our current times, as White Teeth and On Beauty both did.

As part of Africa Utopia Poetry/music duo Gertrude & Jemma lead a performance of experimental and improvised sound exploring the relationship between words, music and silence in What The Trees Know / The Blindfold Session.

London’s award-winning LGBT literary salon, Polari, comes back for its tenth summer at the Southbank Centre, ad later in the year the Poetry Library will host exhibitions dedicated to The Mersey Soung, Joseph Conrad, the implications of Brexit and Indian poets.

There’s also the new exhibition A Fair Field Full of Folk which explores William Langland’s medieval poem Piers Plowman and features a rare opportunity to see an original sixteenth century manuscript of the poem, on loan from the University of London.

It’s all gearing up for the annual London Literature Festival in October, with even more education, entertainment, elucidation and astoundingly excellent literature on offer.

So if there’s anything that can tear you away from your book, it’s this.

Zadie Smith – Dominique Nabokov 2016 Copyright

Changing Minds, the weekend festival at the Southbank Centre about the role of arts in mental health and the intersection between the two was a fabulously balanced collection of events curated and presented by experts (whether that’s professional or from lived experience). Entertaining and informative, the six story building was awash with people curious to learn more.

A complex blur of physical, emotional and environmental triggers, there is no one size fits all solution. It’s the same for physical health of course, but we can see that, so as visual beings tend to find it easier to understand. Art and creativity can do everything from take the edge off to literally saving a life by providing a lifeline. There’s evidence that the arts can have significant impact upon health outcomes in studies by Arts Council and the National Alliance.

The programme was filled with talks covering everything from how humour can take the sting out of shame with comedians Jack Rooke and Sofie Hagen, how therapists can be ore creative (a panel including Nicola Crooke and Paul Gurney), the place of art versus chemicals (Jo Marchant, Rachel Kelly, Danny Cunningham), what the words ‘mental health’ actually mean (Bobby Baker, David Adam) and more.

There was also the opportunity to try some of the ways in which art can enhance wellbeing, and participants were invited to move the body through dance with Yunkong Song, read poetry alongside Ellie Stamp or craft in Amy Brown’s workshops. Stalls from Mind, Rethink, Time To Change, CALM, Biblio, Bethlem, Lambeth LivingWell, B-EAT and Articulate made for a vibrant area of exchange and inspiration. There was also the opportunity to try some of the ways in which art can enhance wellbeing, and participants were invited to move the body through dance with Yunkong Song, read poetry alongside Ellie Stamp or craft in Amy Brown’s workshops.

The weekend was a reminder than open and honest dialogue, mutual partnerships and curiousity are crucial to changing the perspective of mental heath, but also that it is happening. The spectrum between illness and wellness is a grey one. Good mental health isn’t about not being crazy. It’s about being comfortable, communicating, and connecting.

Sometimes art can be the tool to make that happen.