Manchester Poetry Library celebrates the Festival of Libraries with unmissable free events programme

Throughout the festival, Manchester Poetry Library hosts a series of free, introductory 20-minute tours around its extensive collections, including children’s sections, poetry on vinyl, journals, works curated in Manchester’s community languages and more.

Chaired by the University of Manchester’s Professor of Poetry John McAuliffe, this captivating two-hour conversation unpacks the intricacies of live verse with playwright and screenwriter Tim Price, Manchester-based performance-makers/artists Lisa Mattocks and Lowri Evans and Irish poet Molly Twomey.

Illustrated by Man Met student Georgina Reynolds, the second picture book from award-winning author Oliver Sykes follows 12-year-old Kezia Boswell and her twin brothers, Duke and Danior, who are forced to navigate their youth in a single parent household following the death of their mother. Usually kept at home by domestic duties while her brothers go fishing, one day Kezia is called upon to show what she can do with her own rod, igniting an empowering story of female heroism. The launch features a celebratory discussion with the creative team and is ideal for anyone wishing to learn more about alternative methods of publishing.

Led by Manchester Poetry Library’s Programme Manager Martin Kratz, this free online event unites representatives ‘from Oxford to Kampala’ for the second edition of a broad, insightful discussion which allows poetry libraries, writer’s houses, archives and other literature organisations and individuals to connect, introduce their own work and to contemplate the challenges and possibilities of the future.

Part of the festival’s Love to Read series, novelists Laura Barnett and Livi Michael meet to discuss their new novels. Barnett’s This Beating Heart, a family drama about grief, divorce and the quiet trauma of a lost future, challenges us to “think more creatively when it comes to happiness, and especially to the shapes that our families might take” (Hephzibah Anderson, The Observer), while Michael’s Reservoir explores memory, guilt and reinvention through a psychotherapist’s chance encounter with a childhood friend.

Multiple award-winning novelist Kit Fan joins Barnsley-born poet Andrew McMillan, whose debut collection remains the only poetry book to win the Guardian First Book Award, for a stirring discussion about the importance of libraries in their work and art, and the necessity for protected centres of literature in the wider cultural landscape.

You don’t have to be a member of the Poetry Library to attend any of the events, but why not sign up when you visit? You can also become a member of the Manchester Poetry Library by signing up online – all you need is a valid form of ID. Registered members can enjoy a collection of over 12,000 poetry books in multiple languages, a children’s section, a record player on which to play an exclusive selection of poetry on vinyl and even games from around the world. You can also borrow up to ten books at a time. Sign up to the Poetry Library newsletter for more information.