The Manchester Literature Festival Special Issue
As part of our Higher Education partnership with Manchester Literature Festival, the Centre for New Writing has been thrilled to once again partner on a bold and original programme of live lit events, showcasing inspirational writers from across the globe alongside emerging talent from the region. In this Special Issue we feature newly commissioned work written specifically for and premiered at this year’s Manchester Literature Festival. This Issue features the following new commissions:
Kei Miller responds to the legacy of James Baldwin with a series of letters reflecting on the art of poetry and the shockingly small distance society has travelled from the racist world James Baldwin described in his essays of the 1960s to the present day.
Rommi Smith responds to the Bodies of Colour: Breaking with Stereotypes in the Wallpaper Collection exhibition at the Whitworth with a powerful Poetic Script exploring the legacy of colonialism and white supremacy.
In the eighth Castlefield Manchester Sermon, Michael Morpurgo explores humanity’s relationship to and dependence upon our natural surroundings and our myopia regarding the growing threat of environmental disasters.
Beth Underdown gives voice to the women of Quarry Bank who lived or worked at the mill a hundred years ago, when some women in England gained the vote, in a series of haunting short stories inspired by her time in residence at this National Trust site.
Benjamin Myers and Adelle Stripe respond to Martin Parr’s Return to Manchester exhibition at Manchester Art Gallery with a series of darkly humorous monologues and stories giving voice to the various characters captured in Parr’s photographs of 80s Salford.
Inspired by a stay at the iconic hotel, Linda Grant steps into the shoes of Victoria Beckham, recounting her first date with David Beckham at The Midland in her witty story Posh.
In her series of poems there & back, Helen Mort takes us on a journey from Victoria Station to Hebden Bridge and back via attention-grabbing scenery and moving elegy.