Image: © Charles Eastwood
This special issue of The Manchester Review presents fiction, nonfiction and poetry responses to the theme of Displacement. Reflecting the range of writing and artforms we are proud to attract, this issue presents recognised as well as new names alongside Manchester street photography by Charles Eastwood.
Our inbox overflowed with original, nuanced and diverse responses to the theme and we would like to thank all writers for submitting their work to us. As we narrowed the shortlist for this issue, we found that climate change, migration and the complexities of modern womanhood emerged as the connecting thematic streams, highlighting the many ways in which displacement can present.
Importantly, this issue points to the centre of displacement in which it finds humanity. Whether it is climate change, political conflict or changing identities, we must look for and acknowledge the human and the individual, we cannot turn away from that which is uncomfortable. In her poem Ya Shaykh, Maryam Alsaeid reminds us that it is never too late:
there is no wrong time for exodus / consciousness comes when we are ready / children turn to the parent to remove the overwhelm of a world they cannot carry — primal / pacifying / dangerously human
We hope you enjoy reading this issue. The Manchester Review will return soon.