The Working Class Movement Library is preparing to host its annual ‘radical readings’ fundraiser.
The November 16 event focuses on solidarity and class based consciousness, tackling issues such as racism and showcasing working class creativity.
The event will include a range of performances, including poetry, traditional folk music and theatre peformances, each highlighting stories from across greater Manchester and the North West.
Proceeds from the event will contribute to the working class movement library’s efforts to preserve radical working class history, as well as promoting political education and keeping class in the forefront of political discussions.
Confirmed performers include Brown Wimpenny, an 11-piece experimental folk band based in Northwest England, as well as Odd arts – an arts and theatre collective that challenges inequalities. They will be performing a play about the Manchester boxing legend Len Johnson.
Helen Kay, curator of dyslexiapoetry.co.uk, who will also be performing said: “My poems are about the socialist, Helen Macfarlane, the first translator of the Communist Manifesto, but because she was a woman, her contribution has been overlooked. It is exciting to share her life, and its relevance to contemporary issues, with a wider audience.
“It is a special event because it celebrates the importance of written tradition within radical thinking.”
Another performer, Tom Branfoot, will be performing his Forward Prize shortlisted poem called ‘A Parliament of Jets’.
He said: “It was written in the Lake District after watching F-15 fighter jets fly over this English countryside. The poem takes inspiration from stories of Palestinian birdwatchers and naturalists working for nature despite facing monumental oppression, and reaches out in solidarity to the people of Gaza who cannot fly away, like birds, or planes can.
Information about the event can be found on the library’s website.
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