Poets & Players featuring Liz Berry and more at The Whitworth

Sarah-Clare Conlon, Literature Editor

Visit now

Poets & Players

The Whitworth, Manchester
17 November 2018

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

Liz Berry
Poet Liz Berry.
Book now

The Poets & Players poetry and musical compositions series is having a wonderfully varied Autumn season at The Whitworth, and has already played host to Ted Hughes Award and the Griffin International Poetry Prize shortlistee John Glenday, Ben Wilkinson and Keshia Starrett, and seen its annual collaboration with Manchester Literature Festival, this year featuring the writing talents of Deryn Rees-Jones and TS Eliot Prize-winner Sean O’Brien (who was also found performing from his second collection of short stories, Quartier Perdu, at the Portico Library).

For the third event in the Autumn programme, Poets & Players welcome back Liz Berry, who appeared during their stretch at the John Rylands Library on Deansgate in 2015 with her debut collection Black Country, which won a Somerset Maugham Award, Geoffrey Faber Memorial Award and Forward Prize for Best First Collection 2014. The Poetry Book Society Recommended poet will be bringing along new work, courtesy her latest pamphlet, The Republic of Motherhood, which came out with Chatto this year – the title poem just picked up the Forward Prize for Best Single Poem 2018.

Liz will be joined on Saturday 17 November by fellow poets Sophie Herxheimer, Kapka Kassobova and Tariq Latif, who will each be writing a specially commissioned poem on the subject of ‘Migrations’ for the event, and the live music slot will be filled with a bit of jazz-inspired composition by Archipelago.

In the morning, Liz will be running a creative writing workshop at the Whitworth Art Gallery. It’s bound to be a sell-out, so email davidborrott@btinternet.com as soon as you can to reserve a place (£20).

What's on at The Whitworth

Where to go near Poets & Players featuring Liz Berry and more at The Whitworth

Manchester
Bar or Pub
Big Hands

Big Hands is the one-time haunt of legendary Manchester band Elbow; it’s shabby, loud and dark, with a jukebox and excellent roof terrace.

The Giving Tree
Manchester
Restaurant
The Giving Tree

The Giving Tree is a cafe and community hub based in Rusholme, a short walk from the city centre.

Pankhurst Centre
Manchester
Museum
The Pankhurst Centre

The Pankhurst Centre houses a small museum and heritage centre that remains as a legacy to the Pankhurst family and the Suffragette movement born in this city.

Manchester
Music venue
Manchester Academy 3

Brilliant venue for catching a touring band on the rise. The boringly titled Academy 3 or more interesting Hop and Grape, as it was once known, is a self contained…

Manchester Academy music venue on Oxford Road Manchester.
Manchester
Music venue
Manchester Academy

The Manchester Academy is a mid size, modern warehouse venue adjacent to the University of Manchester Students’ Union. It lacks any architectural merit and has always been a difficult place…

Cafe at the Museum
Manchester
Café or Coffee Shop
The Cafe
at the Museum

Manchester Museum’s cafe is run by the people behind award-winning cafe Teacup Kitchen. The menu features home-baked cakes, the finest loose leaf teas and breakfast, as well as a wide selection of mains and meals for kids.

Whitworth Park, Manchester
Manchester
Park
Whitworth Park

This 18-acre park opposite the Manchester Royal Infirmary provides a welcome patch of green in an otherwise densely populated and heavily used part of the city.

What's on: Literature

Deryn Rees-Jones. Credit Alison Dodd Photography
LiteratureLiverpool
Deryn Rees-Jones at Open Eye Gallery

For the seventh Matt Simpson Memorial Reading, hosted by Liverpool Poetry Space (LiPS), Deryn Rees-Jones will be reading from her new collection, Hôtel Amour.

Free entry

Culture Guides

Poet Helen Mort.
Literature Events in the North

One to add to your TBR pile, our latest round-up is a bumper edition and features some amazing events in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and beyond...

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Theatre this month bursts with contrasts - from bold new writing and Black History Month highlights to contemporary arts and reimagined classics.

Music in the North

From New York’s experimental underground to the most exciting sounds coming from local scenes, we're lining up a noisy autumn of gigs.

A white mattress is burning in a black rocky landscape.
Exhibitions in the North

Galleries in the North are far from spooky this October - instead you'll find tactile sculptures, plant magic and curatorial experiments.

Cinema in the North

A host of Halloween horrors, experimental shorts, plus pioneering black British cinema make our October Cinema Guide.