Annual Rylands Poetry Reading with Marilyn Hacker at John Rylands Library

Sarah-Clare Conlon, Literature Editor
Poet Marilyn Hacker.
Poet Marilyn Hacker.

16th Annual Rylands Poetry Reading with Marilyn Hacker at John Rylands Research Institute and Library, City Centre 22 November 2018 Entrance is free — Visit now

The annual Rylands Poetry Reading is a grand affair, not just for attracting a literati audience the likes of Simon Armitage and Grevel Lindop, but also for its backdrop: the cathedral-esque surrounds of the John Rylands Library’s Historic Reading Room; all carved wooden niches, polished brass panels and imposing marble statues.

The prestigious programme of readings was inaugurated by the Board of the Library’s Modern Literary Archives Programme, and is run in conjunction with the University of Manchester’s Centre for New Writing. Each year, it features a prestigious poet published at some point or other by Manchester-based Carcanet Press, including, in recent memory, Sir Geoffrey Hill, Rowan Williams and, in 2017, Jorie Graham.

The event ties in closely with the outstanding modern and contemporary literary archives at the John Rylands Library, including one for Carcanet Press, founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt and Peter Jones with the aim of promoting and publishing new poetry as collections and through the revered literary magazine PN Review. The Carcanet Press Archive contains papers relating to the business itself along with a whole host of literary material including typescripts, proofs and letters from poets, agents, editors and translators. The range of poets and authors represented is vast, from W.H. Auden and Seamus Heaney, to Philip Larkin and Sylvia Plath.

In Manchester’s first year bearing the UNESCO City of Literature title, the 16th annual Rylands Poetry Reading will be delivered by Marilyn Hacker. A multi-award-winning poet known for formal poems that mix high culture and colloquial speech (think sonnets, sestinas, villanelles, blank verse and heroic couplets), her career spans over 40 years, from her first book, the National Book Award-winning Presentation Piece in 1974 to Blazons: New and Selected Poems which Carcanet is putting out in March 2019.

Described in The Guardian by George Szirtes as “a major poet… exciting and true”, New York-born, Paris-based Marilyn Hacker is the author of 13 (and counting) books of poems, while her translations of French, Francophone and Arabic poets appear regularly in PN Review and journals around the world, garnering an American PEN Award for Poetry in translation in 2009.

The event will see Marilyn read from her own feminist, political and intimate poetry, as well as translations from the Arabic of Syrian poets’ work. There will be a reception before the reading, and a book signing afterwards.

16th Annual Rylands Poetry Reading with Marilyn Hacker at John Rylands Research Institute and Library, City Centre 22 November 2018 Entrance is free Visit now

Where to go near Annual Rylands Poetry Reading with Marilyn Hacker at John Rylands Library

City Centre
Restaurant
Gusto

Gusto Manchester is a lavish Italian restaurant just off Deansgate, with 1920s décor and an extensive menu.

Stow
City Centre
Restaurant
Stow

Stow is a new fire-based restaurant on Bridge Street in Manchester, from the team behind Trof.

What's on: Literature

Graphic promotion
ActivityManchester
Coffee and Poems Club

Coffee and Poems club is a nomadic happening open to all who have the curiosity to explore poetry with no previous experience required.

from £8.00
Poet Imtiaz Dharker. Photo by Ayesha Dharker
LiteratureManchester
Poets & Players at Burgess Foundation

Poets & Players is a must-go for lovers of words and music, presenting poets established and emerging, with the latest readers Imtiaz Dharker, Ella Frears and Martin Zarrop.

free entry

Culture Guides

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

DaDaFest’s 40th anniversary line-up, contemporary reimaginings and outlandish fringe, check out our top theatre picks for spring onwards.

We shelter here sometimes promo image. Featuring My Dog Sighs inside and abandoned building.
Cinema in the North

David Lynch, International Women's Day and Manchester Film Festival are amongst our cinematic highlights this March.

Mohair Man, 1991, by Dave Swindells
Exhibitions in the North

Cinematic sets, 90s nightclub photography and even new gallery - we have a great mix of exhibitions for you this month.

Poet Imtiaz Dharker. Photo by Ayesha Dharker
Literature Events in the North

Some of our favourite leftfield live literature regulars are back with their first events of the year – we’ve picked a weird and wonderful heap we think you’ll love.

GROVE
Music in the North

We’re championing all things underground this month, with a selection of gigs and festivals that embrace the strange.

Classical Music in the North

Read our latest highlights from the live classical music offer in Manchester and the North, taking in a number of the region's most cherished orchestral forces and venues.