{"id":1750,"date":"2012-10-19T15:51:17","date_gmt":"2012-10-19T14:51:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/blog\/?p=1375"},"modified":"2016-02-05T19:47:25","modified_gmt":"2016-02-05T18:47:25","slug":"manchester-sermon-ali-smith-reviewed-by-rachel-heaton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=1750","title":{"rendered":"The Manchester Sermon<\/em>: Ali Smith, reviewed by Rachel Heaton"},"content":{"rendered":"

Manchester Sermon \u2013 Ali Smith<\/p>\n

18th<\/sup> of October 2012<\/p>\n

Reviewed by Rachel Heaton.<\/p>\n

\n

I approach Manchester Cathedral with a certain amount of trepidation; I have never been inside and only know it as \u2018that great big \u2018churchy\u2019 thing behind M&S\u2019. Inside it is suitably cathedral-like (I nervously pull my too-short skirt down) and, despite my early arrival, is already full of people talking about highbrow literature while sipping wine. It feels like the sort of event where you need a glass of wine in your hand. Ali Smith and broadcaster Edward Stourton are already happily chatting to members of the audience.<\/p>\n

\n

The murmuring dies down as the choir enter: Andrew Shanks, the Cathedral\u2019s Canon Theologian, introduces the choir and explains that the evening will be a retelling of the 18th<\/sup> and 19th<\/sup> century art form of the literary sermon.\u00a0 Oh dear \u2013 I know nothing about the literary sermon and am really worried about the whole event being lost on me!<\/p>\n

\n

The choir\u2019s beautiful voices echoing around the church go some way towards relieving my apprehension (well, it\u2019s either that or my amusement at the look of absolute concentration that one tiny child-chorister is giving), but I am still nervous as Ali Smith steps up to the mic.<\/p>\n

\n

My worry, however, immediately disappears when she launches straight into a quote from of one of my favourite poems: A Nocturnal Upon St. Lucy\u2019s Day, Being the Shortest Day<\/em> by John Donne \u2013 as an English student, I now feel at home! The sermon is a literary geek\u2019s dream; she repeatedly quotes from an endless source of geniuses (including Yeats, Donne and Shakespeare) and I end up playing the \u2018name the book\u2019 game, trying to recall the author of the quote before she reveals it!<\/p>\n

\n

Ali\u2019s speech revolves around two dictionary definitions; the word \u2018sermon\u2019, coming from the Latin to join, and the Donne-coined word \u2018rebegot\u2019, which she defines as a joining of \u2018begot\u2019 and \u2018rebirth\u2019. She comments on the cyclic nature of humanity, the idiosyncrasies of language and society issues (including racism and sexism), all stippled with giggle-inducing anecdotes about her childhood in the Catholic church and re-readings of biblical texts (like: \u201cwhen I was a child, I spake as a child [\u2026] but when I became a woman\u201d!)<\/p>\n

\n

She manages to hurtle through two hours worth of material in twenty minutes, leaving the woman next to me to mouth \u201cWOW\u201d when the sermon finishes!<\/p>\n

\n

At this point Edward Stourton joins Ali to conduct a \u2018chat show-like\u2019 discussion, accompanied by questions from the audience: we are treated to her opinions on contemporary experimental fiction, Angela Carter and the writing process. She wittily sidesteps giving a direct answer to the \u2018what do you think of god\u2019 questions, only saying (poetically) \u201cI don\u2019t think religion ever ends [\u2026] it changes, [\u2026 but ultimately] it is about trusting the dark\u201d and that we should take away with us the idea of human multiplicity and communality. I nod and hope that I understand!<\/p>\n

\n

The end applause lasts longer I have ever heard an applause to last (at least for a literary event \u2013 the Take That<\/em> concert I went to might just have beaten it, but only just): the whole audience is in awe.<\/p>\n

\n

In the queue to get my (battered) copy of The Accidental<\/em> signed, I attempt to think of an intelligent\/witty observation to impress\u2026 I fail, but am still very happy that she comments on my necklace. Claim to fame: Ali Smith likes my jewellery!<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Manchester Sermon \u2013 Ali Smith 18th of October 2012 Reviewed by Rachel Heaton. I approach Manchester Cathedral with a certain amount of trepidation; I have never been inside and only know it as \u2018that great big \u2018churchy\u2019 thing behind M&S\u2019. Inside it is suitably cathedral-like (I nervously pull my too-short skirt down) and, despite my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[16,283],"tags":[26,171,225],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Manchester Sermon: Ali Smith, reviewed by Rachel Heaton - The Manchester Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=1750\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Manchester Sermon: Ali Smith, reviewed by Rachel Heaton - The Manchester Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Manchester Sermon \u2013 Ali Smith 18th of October 2012 Reviewed by Rachel Heaton. I approach Manchester Cathedral with a certain amount of trepidation; I have never been inside and only know it as \u2018that great big \u2018churchy\u2019 thing behind M&S\u2019. Inside it is suitably cathedral-like (I nervously pull my too-short skirt down) and, despite my […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=1750\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Manchester Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-10-19T14:51:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-02-05T18:47:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"The Manchester Review\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"The Manchester Review\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=1750\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=1750\",\"name\":\"The Manchester Sermon: Ali Smith, reviewed by Rachel Heaton - The Manchester Review\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-10-19T14:51:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-02-05T18:47:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/e6deb0374609919f6e86f6ee1defe8cc\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=1750#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=1750\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=1750#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Manchester Sermon: Ali Smith, reviewed by Rachel Heaton\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"The Manchester Review\",\"description\":\"The Manchester Review\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/e6deb0374609919f6e86f6ee1defe8cc\",\"name\":\"The Manchester Review\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/wp-includes\/images\/blank.gif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/wp-includes\/images\/blank.gif\",\"caption\":\"The Manchester Review\"},\"description\":\"The Manchester Review was founded in 2008 and is published by the Centre for New Writing at The University of Manchester. We aspire to bring together online, without a paper edition, the best of international writing from well-known, established writers alongside new, relatively unknown poets and prose-writers.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?author=45\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Manchester Sermon: Ali Smith, reviewed by Rachel Heaton - The Manchester Review","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=1750","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Manchester Sermon: Ali Smith, reviewed by Rachel Heaton - The Manchester Review","og_description":"Manchester Sermon \u2013 Ali Smith 18th of October 2012 Reviewed by Rachel Heaton. I approach Manchester Cathedral with a certain amount of trepidation; I have never been inside and only know it as \u2018that great big \u2018churchy\u2019 thing behind M&S\u2019. Inside it is suitably cathedral-like (I nervously pull my too-short skirt down) and, despite my […]","og_url":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=1750","og_site_name":"The Manchester Review","article_published_time":"2012-10-19T14:51:17+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-02-05T18:47:25+00:00","author":"The Manchester Review","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"The Manchester Review","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=1750","url":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=1750","name":"The Manchester Sermon: Ali Smith, reviewed by Rachel Heaton - The Manchester Review","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-10-19T14:51:17+00:00","dateModified":"2016-02-05T18:47:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/e6deb0374609919f6e86f6ee1defe8cc"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=1750#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=1750"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=1750#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Manchester Sermon: Ali Smith, reviewed by Rachel Heaton"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/#website","url":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/","name":"The Manchester Review","description":"The Manchester Review","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/e6deb0374609919f6e86f6ee1defe8cc","name":"The Manchester Review","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/wp-includes\/images\/blank.gif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/wp-includes\/images\/blank.gif","caption":"The Manchester Review"},"description":"The Manchester Review was founded in 2008 and is published by the Centre for New Writing at The University of Manchester. We aspire to bring together online, without a paper edition, the best of international writing from well-known, established writers alongside new, relatively unknown poets and prose-writers.","url":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?author=45"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2PuXo-se","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1750"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1750"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1750\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6034,"href":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1750\/revisions\/6034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}