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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Library Live
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260519T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260519T193000
DTSTAMP:20260625T002931
CREATED:20260429T094754Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260429T094754Z
UID:13556-1779213600-1779219000@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Word Central
DESCRIPTION:Word Central Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word. \nPresented by Flapjack Press and Manchester Libraries. \nTuesday 19th May\, 6.00pm – 7.45pm \nDoors open 5.40pm and free entry. \nHosted by Tony Curry with special guest Cathy Shaw. \nOur special guest Cathy Shaw’s poems tend to be either gut wrenchingly sad or laugh out loud funny. Based in Hebden Bridge\, she is a massage therapist and celebrant by day\, and a poetry promoter and event host\, creator of The Poetry of it All\, and curator of the annual Heptonstall Spoken Word Festival. \nBook your open mic slot from noon on Tuesday 5th May via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk. \nN.B. Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer – it is essential that you stay within this timeframe. \nPerformance slots are allocated on a ‘first come\, first served’ basis from the stated booking time. If they are already filled\, you will be offered a place on the reserve list. \nhttps://flapjackpress.co.uk/pages/word-central \nhttps://www.facebook.com/WordCentral/ \nhttps://x.com/WordCentralMcr
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/word-central-17/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Poetry
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/WORD-CENTRAL-LOGO-jpg.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260514T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260514T193000
DTSTAMP:20260625T002931
CREATED:20260429T094434Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260429T094434Z
UID:13553-1778781600-1778787000@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Manchester: One City\, Many Voices
DESCRIPTION:Join the Manchester Lit&Phil and MACFEST for a vibrant evening celebrating the power of words to bridge cultures\, spark understanding\, and illuminate the rich tapestry of our city. \nWe bring together a distinguished panel of poets\, whose award-winning works span continents\, traditions\, and lived experiences. \nThrough live readings and personal reflections our guest writers will explore what diversity and inclusion truly mean in a city shaped by migration\, creativity\, and community. Their stories – rooted in memory\, identity\, struggle\, joy\, and hope – offer a compelling portrait of Manchester as a place where many cultures not only coexist\, but flourish. \nThis unique event invites audiences to reflect on the ways literature can build empathy and connection\, celebrating Manchester as an exemplar of multiculturalism at its best. Come prepared to be inspired\, challenged\, and uplifted by voices that reflect the city’s past\, present\, and ever-evolving future. \nThis is a free public event\, designed to welcome audiences from all backgrounds and to highlight the unifying power of literature and the spoken word. There will be time for discussion and questions to the poets. \nPoets and Writers (photos below listed in the following order): \n\nNasima Bee\, performance poet\, producer and creative practitioner\nNóra Blascsok\, Hungarian poet based in Manchester\, one of the Manchester Multilingual City Poets in 2025\nPamela Galloway\, poet based in Canada and Manchester\nPeter Kalu\, poet\, fiction writer and playwright\n\nFor more information and biographies of the speakers visit Manchester Lit&Phil website.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/manchester-one-city-many-voices/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Performance,Poetry
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/MacFest_2018.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260430T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260430T193000
DTSTAMP:20260625T002931
CREATED:20260331T150307Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260331T150406Z
UID:13303-1777572000-1777577400@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Attila the Stockbroker: Fiery Words for Hellish Times
DESCRIPTION:Punk poet\, latterly dub poet\, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Attila the Stockbroker exploded into public consciousness in 1982-3 via two John Peel sessions and a Melody Maker front cover\, and is now celebrating 45 years earning a living doing what he loves. \nFiery Words for Hellish Times is his most topical and incendiary publication yet. As the news goes from awful to worse\, these are poems to make you laugh\, cry\, get angry\, and above all\, think! \nPresented by Flapjack Press and Manchester Libraries. \nhttps://flapjackpress.co.uk
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/fiery-words-for-hellish-times-by-attila-the-stockbroker/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Book Launch,Poetry
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Attila-the-stockbroker.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260225T181500
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260225T193000
DTSTAMP:20260625T002931
CREATED:20260202T165500Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260202T165500Z
UID:12731-1772043300-1772047800@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Voiced & IMLD26: Polari and Poetry in Manchester
DESCRIPTION:Voiced\, the UK’s first creative festival for endangered languages\, presents an unmissable evening of Queer poetry and performance.\nPresenting Polari\, a hidden language of Queer experience\, which will come to life in performance with Jez Dolan. Rosie Garland performs poems from Polari Prize-shortlisted What Girls do in the Dark and her recently published This Is How I Fight\, an Observer Poetry Book of the Month. And poet afshan d’souza-lodhi
explores Queer language through her mother tongue Konkani\, a minority and national language in India. Join us for this electric evening exploring the intersections of Queer languages\, poetry and performance. \nAbout Voiced \nThis event is part of the Voiced: The Festival of Endangered Languages. Through poetry\, performance\, talks\, live events and visual art\, the festival brings together a remarkable line-up of artists whose work marks the vast impact art has on language and language has on art. Co-Curated by Sam Winston and Chris McCabe\, please see the full programme on the pages below. \nAbout the performers \nRosie Garland has a passion for language nurtured by public libraries. An award-winning poet\, novelist and short story writer\, she is frontwoman for post-punk band The March Violets. Her four historical novels include The Night Brother\, described by The Times as “a delight…with shades of Angela Carter” & The Fates\, her queer retelling of Greek myth. Latest poetry collection This Is How I Fight was Observer Poetry Book of the Month. Val McDermid named her one of the UK’s most compelling LGBT+ writers\, & in 2023 she was made Fellow of The Royal Society of Literature.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/voiced-imld26-polari-and-poetry-in-manchester/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Heritage,Poetry
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/https___cdn.evbuc_.com_images_1175426600_506272316315_1_original.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260217T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260217T193000
DTSTAMP:20260625T002931
CREATED:20260121T190748Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260121T190748Z
UID:12626-1771351200-1771356600@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Word Central with special guest Zena Barrie.
DESCRIPTION:Word Central Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word. \nPresented by Flapjack Press and Manchester Libraries. \nDoors open 5.40pm and free entry. \nHosted by Tony Curry with special guest Zena Barrie. \nBook your open mic slot from noon on Tuesday 3rd February via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk. \nN.B. Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer – it is essential that you stay within this timeframe. \nPerformance slots are allocated on a ‘first come\, first served’ basis from the stated booking time. If they are already filled you will be offered a place on the reserve list. \nOur first special guest of 2026\, Zena Barrie\, lives in Manchester and is the founder and co-director of Camden Fringe. She co-hosted the award-winning spoken word night Verbose\, and ran the Gtr Manchester Fringe for a few years\, the King’s Arms Pub and Theatre in Salford\, and the Etcetera Theatre in Camden\, as well as working in a wide variety of roles at the Edinburgh Fringe. Her novel\, Your Friend Forever\, was published in 2021\, and her book of short stories\, Two Similar Looking Men with Umbilical Hernias\, illustrated by Claire Robinson\, was published in 2025.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/word-central-with-special-guest-zena-barrie/
CATEGORIES:Performance,Poetry
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Feb-2026.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20251204T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20251204T193000
DTSTAMP:20260625T002931
CREATED:20251030T141003Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251030T141259Z
UID:12035-1764871200-1764876600@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Book Launch: Spit & Sawdust by Kieren King
DESCRIPTION:Join Great Northern Poetry Slam Champion Kieren King for the launch of his new collection. Including an author performance\, interview\, Q&A\, and book signing. \nPull up a stool\, mind your pint\, and drink in perfectly pitched poetry from the Great Northern Slam champion and four-time UK National Slam finalist. \nWith poems of pubs\, politics\, love\, and life in Salford\, Kieren King’s first solo collection is funny\, fearless\, and unapologetically Northern – poetry that belongs as much in the bar as on the bookshelf. \nFREE EVENT\, EVERYONE WELCOME. \n“Stunning.” Adam Farrer \n“Wonderful.” Mike Garry \n“Beautiful.” Oliver James Lomax \n“Alive with craft\, wit\, and spirit.” Reece Williams \n“The best of working-class poetry.” Louise Fazackerley \nFlapjack Press: flapjackpress.co.uk
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/book-launch-spit-sawdust-by-kieren-king/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Book Launch,Performance,Poetry
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/KK02-BL.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20251125T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20251125T193000
DTSTAMP:20260625T002931
CREATED:20251030T140214Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251030T140243Z
UID:12029-1764093600-1764099000@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Word Central
DESCRIPTION:Word Central Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word. \nPresented by Flapjack Press and Manchester Libraries. \nHosted by Tony Curry with special guest Kieren King. \nBook your open mic slot from noon on Tuesday 11th November via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk. N.B. Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer\, it is essential that you stay within this timeframe. \nPerformance slots are allocated on a ‘first come\, first served’ basis from the stated booking time. If they are already filled you will be offered a place on the reserve list. \nOur special guest Kieren King is a Salfordian spoken word artist\, a four-time UK National Slam finalist\, and a Great Northern Poetry Slam champion. He was a host of Bang Said the Gun: Manchester\, and the creative mind behind the acclaimed spoken word nights Slamchester\, Evidently\, and the Word War slams. He has featured on BBC Radio 4\, performed for Musicians Without Borders and Amnesty International\, and at the Kendal Calling\, Edinburgh Fringe\, and Glastonbury festivals. Kieren has also been a special guest at former NME journalist and Haçienda DJ Dave Haslam’s Not Quite Light Weekender\, and been commissioned by Guy Garvey of Elbow to curate a spoken word event for Meltdown at the Southbank Centre\, by Sky to write and perform a poem to launch their channel Blaze\, and by Salford Red Devils Rugby League FC to celebrate their appearance in the Super League Grand Final. His new poetry collection\, Spit & Sawdust\, was published in September by Flapjack Press. \nEvent host Tony Curry is a performance poet\, playwright and workshop facilitator. Raised in Crawley by English and South African parents\, he has lived and worked in Manchester for three decades\, running literature-in-the-community projects with a specific leaning towards mental health and wellbeing. His play\, The Teddy Bear\, was staged at Manchester’s Contact Theatre\, whilst his solo spoken word shows include Brit Boy\, Complicit Relations\, Moving and The Odyssey\, performed at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre. Tony has recently toured his solo show Tall Tales for All Men\, adapted from his collection Tall Tales for Tall Men Who Fall Well Short (Flapjack Press\, 2012)\, at the Brighton Fringe and Chorlton Arts festivals.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/word-central-16/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Performance,Poetry
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/WORD-CENTRAL-LOGO-jpg.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250930T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250930T193000
DTSTAMP:20260625T002931
CREATED:20250902T131224Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250902T131224Z
UID:11671-1759255200-1759260600@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Word Central
DESCRIPTION:Word Central Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word. \nPresented by Flapjack Press and Manchester Libraries. \nDoors open 5.40pm and free entry. \nHosted by Tony Curry with special guest Lisa Moore. \nBook your open mic slot from noon on Tuesday 16th September via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk. \nN.B. Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer – it is essential that you stay within this timeframe. \nPerformance slots are allocated on a ‘first come\, first served’ basis from the stated booking time. If they are already filled you will be offered a place on the reserve list. \nOur special guest Lisa Moore is a Salford-born spoken word artist\, actor\, writer\, and scriptwriter whose work blends sharp humour with bold feminist themes. Her debut poetry collection\, And She Dances (Big White Shed\, 2023)\, has been praised by leading voices including Henry Normal\, Kate Fox\, and Ellen Taylor. She is now preparing to publish her second collection\, Pickled Women\, and will feature her full Pickled Women show at Morecambe Poetry Festival 2025. \nEvent host Tony Curry is a performance poet\, playwright and workshop facilitator. Raised in Crawley by English and South African parents\, he has lived and worked in Manchester for three decades\, running literature-in-the-community projects with a specific leaning towards mental health and wellbeing. His play\, The Teddy Bear\, was staged at Manchester’s Contact Theatre\, whilst his solo spoken word shows include Brit Boy\, Complicit Relations\, Moving and The Odyssey\, performed at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre. Tony has recently toured his solo show Tall Tales for All Men\, adapted from his collection Tall Tales for Tall Men Who Fall Well Short (Flapjack Press\, 2012)\, at the Brighton Fringe and Chorlton Arts festivals.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/word-central-15/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Performance,Poetry
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Publication1.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250729T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250729T200000
DTSTAMP:20260625T002931
CREATED:20250702T115302Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250702T115302Z
UID:11281-1753812000-1753819200@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Word Central 9th Birthday!!
DESCRIPTION:Word Central Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word. \nPresented by Flapjack Press and Manchester Libraries. \n‘Now We Are Nine’ birthday celebration. \nTuesday 29th July\, 6.00pm – 7.45pm\, at Manchester Central Library\, St Peter’s Square\, Manchester M2 5PD. \nDoors open 5.40pm and free entry. \nHosted by Tony Curry with special guest Angela Smith. \nBook your open mic slot from noon on Tuesday 15th July via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk. \nN.B. Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer – it is essential that you stay within this timeframe. \nPerformance slots are allocated on a ‘first come\, first served’ basis from the stated booking time. If they are already filled you will be offered a place on the reserve list. \nOur special guest Angela Smith is Welsh by birth but has lived in Hulme long enough to be a Mancunian by adoption\, with her poetry influenced by both the Valleys and the city. She began writing at the age of 7\, but stopped for decades when a burglar stole her notebooks and her Muse. Inspired to begin writing again by online friends and the welcoming Manchester poetry scene\, she has poems in numerous anthologies and the published collection This Is the Me I Would Be If I Dared. Angela loves to play with form and style\, as can be seen in her blog here. \nEvent host Tony Curry is a performance poet\, playwright and workshop facilitator. Raised in Crawley by English and South African parents\, he has lived and worked in Manchester for three decades\, running literature-in-the-community projects with a specific leaning towards mental health and wellbeing. His play\, The Teddy Bear\, was staged at Manchester’s Contact Theatre\, whilst his solo spoken word shows include Brit Boy\, Complicit Relations\, Moving and The Odyssey\, performed at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre. Tony has recently toured his solo show Tall Tales for All Men\, adapted from his collection Tall Tales for Tall Men Who Fall Well Short (Flapjack Press\, 2012)\, at the Brighton Fringe and Chorlton Arts festivals. \n@WordCentralMcr
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/word-central-9th-birthday/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Performance,Poetry,Readings
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/WORD-CENTRAL-LOGO-jpg.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250624T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250624T193000
DTSTAMP:20260625T002931
CREATED:20250612T102142Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250612T102142Z
UID:11139-1750788000-1750793400@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Word Central
DESCRIPTION:Word Central Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word. \nPresented by Flapjack Press and Manchester Libraries. \nHosted by Tony Curry with special guest Kim Moore. \nBook your open mic slot from noon on Tuesday 10th June via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk. \nN.B. Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer – it is essential that you stay within this timeframe. \nPerformance slots are allocated on a ‘first come\, first served’ basis from the stated booking time. If they are already filled you will be offered a place on the reserve list. \nOur special guest Kim Moore is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University and hosts a monthly reading series for Wordsworth Grasmere\, as well as running regular writing workshops for young people and adults. She has won an Eric Gregory Award\, the Geoffrey Dearmer Prize\, and the Ledbury Poetry Competition. Her first full length collection\, The Art of Falling (Seren 2015)\, won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize and her second collection\, All the Men I Never Married (Seren\, 2021)\, won the Forward Prize for Best Collection. Kim has also been a judge for the Forward Prize and the National Poetry Competition\, and her work has been translated into many languages as part of the Versopolis project. \nEvent host Tony Curry is a performance poet\, playwright and workshop facilitator. Raised in Crawley by English and South African parents\, he has lived and worked in Manchester for three decades\, running literature-in-the-community projects with a specific leaning towards mental health and wellbeing. His play\, The Teddy Bear\, was staged at Manchester’s Contact Theatre\, whilst his solo spoken word shows include Brit Boy\, Complicit Relations\, Moving and The Odyssey\, performed at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre. Tony has recently toured his solo show Tall Tales for All Men\, adapted from his collection Tall Tales for Tall Men Who Fall Well Short (Flapjack Press\, 2012)\, at the Brighton Fringe and Chorlton Arts Festival. \n@WordCentralMcr
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/word-central-14/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Performance,Poetry,Readings
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Kim-Moore-Profile-Photo-1-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250429T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250429T193000
DTSTAMP:20260625T002931
CREATED:20250402T175800Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250402T175800Z
UID:10796-1745949600-1745955000@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Word Central with Dominic Berry
DESCRIPTION:Word Central Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word. \nDoors open 5.40pm and free entry. \nHosted by Tony Curry with special guest Dominic Berry. \nBook your open mic slot from noon on Tuesday 15th April via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk. \nN.B. Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer – it is essential that you stay within this timeframe. \nPerformance slots are allocated on a ‘first come first served’ basis from the stated booking time. If they are already filled you will be offered a place on the reserve list. \nOur special guest this April is Dominic Berry\, a Manchester-based performance poet renowned for his eloquent yet uncompromising stage shows and a desire to confront inequality. Dominic’s work has taken him across the continents of Europe\, Asia\, North and South America\, and Australasia. He has been Glastonbury Festival’s poet in residence\, won Manchester Literature Festival’s Superheroes of Slam and New York’s famous Nuyorican Poets’ Café Slam\, and has also twice been publicly voted Sabotage Review’s Best UK Spoken Word Performer. \nDominic’s new collection of selected poems\, How Can I Be Now?\, is published by Flapjack Press and available now. \nPresented by Flapjack Press and Manchester Libraries. \nFREE EVENT. EVERYONE WELCOME. \n \n 
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/word-central-with-dominic-berry/
LOCATION:Seminar Suite\, Floor Two
CATEGORIES:Performance,Poetry
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Dom-Berry.jpg
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