Poets & Players at Burgess Foundation OLDER

Sarah-Clare Conlon, Literature Editor

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Poets & Players

23 March 2024

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Mary Jean Chan
Poet Mary Jean Chan. Photo: Adrian Pope
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It’s the first Poets & Players of 2024, back at the International Anthony Burgess Foundation with an afternoon of words and music, featuring readings by Mary Jean Chan, Rachael Allen and Katie O’Pray.

Mary Jean Chan is the author of Flèche (Faber, 2019), which won the Costa Book Award for Poetry and was shortlisted for multiple prizes, including the International Dylan Thomas Prize and the Seamus Heaney Centre First Collection Poetry Prize. Bright Fear, Chan’s second book, was shortlisted for the 2023 Forward Prize for Best Collection and is currently shortlisted for the 2024 Writers’ Prize. In 2022, Chan co-edited the acclaimed anthology 100 Queer Poems with the Manchester Writing School’s Andrew McMillan. Chan is the 2023-24 Judith E Wilson Poetry Fellow at the University of Cambridge.

Rachael Allen’s first collection of poems, Kingdomland (2019), was a Poetry Book Society Choice, and was followed by God Complex; both are published by Faber & Faber. She was the recipient of a Northern Writers’ Award and an Eric Gregory Award. Born in Cornwall, works is now based in London, where she is the poetry editor for Granta magazine and Granta Publications, and she also works as a lecturer. She writes about poetry for a number of publications, including ArtReviewTank magazine and Music & Literature, and she hosts the Faber Poetry podcast and is finishing a PhD in poetry.

Katie O’Pray is currently a creative facilitator and Barbican Young Poet. They have been the winner of The ruth weiss Foundation’s Emerging Poet’s Prize and the Oxford Brookes International Poetry Competition. Their work has also been associated with the Manchester Writing Competition and the Magma Poetry Competition, among others. Their debut collection APRICOT was published by Out-Spoken Press in 2022.

Music this month comes courtesy Christopher Godhard, classical guitarist from the Royal Northern College of Music.

The event is free and everyone is welcome (no need to book tickets). Performers often bring along books and CDs to sell, so perhaps offer your support that way – please note only cash payments are accepted.

Accessibility

  • Dementia-friendly

Where to go near Poets & Players at Burgess Foundation OLDER

Manchester
Café or Coffee Shop
Burgess Cafe Bar
at IABF

Small but perfectly-formed café – which also serves as the in-house bookstore, stocking all manner of Burgess-related works, along with recordings of his music. It’s a welcoming space, with huge glass windows making for a bright, welcoming atmosphere.

Dog Bowl bowling alley and restaurant Manchester.
Manchester
Bar or Pub
Dog Bowl

A bar and 10-pin bowling alley combined, Dog Bowl is a neon-lit venue that serves up cocktails and Tex-Mex food to go with your time on the lanes.

The Ritz Manchester live music venue
Manchester
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The Ritz

The Ritz was originally a dance hall, built in 1928, has hosted The Beatles, Frank Sinatra and The Smiths and is still going strong as a gig venue now.

Gorilla, Whitworth street Manchester
Manchester
Bar or Pub
Gorilla

Gorilla is a good choice for breakfast, lunch or dinner. From a hearty full English to meaty burgers via good vegan and veggie options. It also hosts some of the

HOME Manchester
Manchester
Theatre
HOME Manchester

Offering a packed schedule of events and things to do, HOME Manchester is one of the city’s leading hubs for arts and culture.

Manchester
Restaurant
Indian Tiffin Room, Manchester

Indian Tiffin Room is a restaurant specialising in Indian street food, with branches in Cheadle and Manchester. This is the information for the Manchester venue.

The Modernist shop
Manchester
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Modernist Society

The bricks and mortar The Modernist shop opened in May 2019 in the Northern Quarter and is the only bookshop in Manchester specialising in architecture and design.

Rain Bar pub in Manchester
City Centre
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Rain Bar

This huge three-floor pub, formerly a Victorian warehouse, then an umbrella factory (hence the name), has one of the city centre’s largest beer gardens. The two-tier terrace overlooks the Rochdale canal and what used to be the back of the Hacienda, providing an unusual, historic view of the city.

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