Centre for New Writing joins Manchester Literature Festival
The Centre for New Writing's first 'Literature Live' season took off in earnest in early October 07, as it joined forces with Manchester Literature Festival to host three landmark events.
The first was the Festival's gala launch event at the Whitworth Art Gallery, and featured Rose Tremain reading from her new novel The Road Home.
Well over 200 students, staff-members and members of the public packed into the South Gallery to hear the author discuss her work with fellow writer and academic Patricia Duncker, with topics ranging from her chosen subjects and the influences of visual images on her work, to her continued interest in activities and lifestyles beyond her own experiences.
The following week the Centre presented New Zealand poets Bill Manhire and Anna Smaill and novelist Carl Shuker, in its regular venue of the Martin Harris Centre. All three read from work influenced by their experiences in diverse geographical locations, including New Zealand itself, Tokyo and - in NZ Poet Laureate Manhire's case - Antarctica, where he was poet in residence.
Manchester played its part too, with our music scene an important influence in Carl Shuker's novel The Lazy Boys, and Bill Manhire was able to see a bit more of the city when he returned to give a workshop to creative writing students the following day.
Later that week the octogenarian American poet Galway Kinnell was welcomed to the Centre, and proved equal to giving a student workshop, several media interviews and an interactive reading before the sun went down. Beginning and concluding with poems about birth, the legendary poet read deeply personal pieces from across his half-century in print, as well as taking questions from the audience and responding to their interests.
Co-director of the Centre John McAuliffe said: "The Centre for New Writing will be one of the world's leading places to learn the art of creative writing, and our Literature Live events both inspire our students' work and directly engage local people with literature. We were therefore thrilled to join forces with Manchester Literature Festival, to bring these highly-respected writers into contact with such a broad spectrum of readers."