The Manchester Review is looking for prose, poetry and art in response to these themes for our upcoming special issue Displacement. Examples of themes include, but are not limited to:
- Displacement of humanity due to climate change
- Experiences of diaspora
- The meaning of home and finding new homes
- Displacement as a result of sociopolitical or economic reasons
- Finding homes within oneself outside of labels predetermined by society
Talking about her work, titled I strongly believe in our right to be frivolous – كُلّي إيمان في حقّنا بالطَيْش, Mounira Al Solh reflects on her experience of displacement saying ‘I am home everywhere today, and nowhere, because my initial homes have rejected me, as well as the hundreds of people I have met and drawn, and with whom I have had incredible conversations about our lives.’. This makes us consider the multitudes contained within the words ‘home’, which can both be somewhere and nowhere, and ‘displacement’ as a process which dislodges and uproots while also enabling connection and rooting in new ways.
Narratives of home and displacement have been prevalent throughout history and continue to be relevant with displacement of communities in search of safety, opportunity, or a habitable environment. Displacement can occur on a more granular level too, whether that’s changing neighbourhoods, finding homes in new identities or becoming displaced from one’s body as they navigate gender outside of heteronormative convention.
We will welcome submissions between 1st-28th February.