Moving Manchester / Mediating Marginalities: How the experience of migration has informed the work of writers in Greater Manchester
Lead Research Organisation:
Lancaster University
Department Name: English and Creative Writing
Abstract
The project will examine the process whereby specific immigrant communities in the Greater Manchester area have employed, and continue to employ, written narrative to define and affirm their identities. In dose collaboration with The Arts Council, local publishers and writers' groups, the project will
(i) Survey and electronically catalogue the output since 1960 of individual authors,
(ii) Support the commissioning and presentation of new work of this type and
(iii) Publish an edited anthology of writings and a full-scale academic study in which the development of narrative as a form of cultural mediation and the character of its impact are theorised, reviewed and analysed.
(i) Survey and electronically catalogue the output since 1960 of individual authors,
(ii) Support the commissioning and presentation of new work of this type and
(iii) Publish an edited anthology of writings and a full-scale academic study in which the development of narrative as a form of cultural mediation and the character of its impact are theorised, reviewed and analysed.
Publications
Balasubramanyam Rajeev
(2010)
The Dreamer
Crawshaw R
(2008)
Articulation, Imagined Space and Virtual Mobility in Literary Narratives of Migration
in Mobilities
Fowler C
(2008)
A Tale of Two Novels: Developing a Devolved Approach to Black British Writing
in The Journal of Commonwealth Literature
Mehmood T
(2016)
Song of Gulzarina
Pearce L
(2010)
'Writing' and 'region' in the 21st century: Epistemological reflections on regionally-located art and literature in the wake of the digital revolution
in European Journal of Cultural Studies
Pearce L
(2010)
(Re)constructing the region in the 21st century
in European Journal of Cultural Studies
Pearce L
(2012)
The Literary North
Pearce L
(2007)
Women Writers and the Elusive Urban Sublime: the View from "Manchester, England"
in Contemporary Women's Writing
Pearce Lynne
(2017)
Postcolonial Manchester: Diaspora Space and the Devolution of Literary Culture
| Title | 'Migration Stories' |
| Description | This is an anthology of new writing from Manchester, edited by Muli Amaye, Martin de Mello and Corinne Fowler. It was our intention that an anthology of new writing should be produced as part of the project, and we were delighted when 'Commonword' agreed to collaborate with us in this enterprise. |
| Type Of Art | Creative Writing |
| Title | 'Moving Manchester' - collaborative poem |
| Description | In July 2009 Graham Mort and his PhD student Muli Amaye ran a workshop at Manchester College for young writers who produced the collaborative poem, 'Moving Manchester'. The poem was later exhibited at the Whitworth 'Creative Arts' Day (12 September 2009) and the Central Library exhibition (7 September-18 October 2009) and may also be found on the Moving Manchester website. |
| Type Of Art | Creative Writing |
| Title | 'Nothing is Missing' |
| Description | 'Nothing is Missing' is a video-installation by Dutch academic and artist, Mieke Bal, who was one of the plenary speakers at the 'Glocal Imaginaries' conference. Her installation (which has travelled around the world) was set up in a small room in the conference centre and visited by a large number of delegates over the three days of the conference. The work features videos of five women who have 'lost' their children and families through migration; these are played, on a loop, in a domestic setting. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Title | 'Region/Writing/Home: Relocating Diasporic Writing in Britain': Special issue of 'Moving Worlds' journal |
| Description | This journal combines academic articles on postcolonial and diasporic literature with commissioned new writing. Graham Mort and Corinne Fowler guest edited this special issue. As well as 7 academic pieces, the special issue features 9 pieces of new writing (both poetry and stories, several by Manchester-based authors). The 'Moving Manchester' project helped with the cost of the production of the volume. |
| Type Of Art | Creative Writing |
| Title | 'Writing Manchester' |
| Description | This was the project's major achievement in terms of outreach. The exhibition was curated by Corinne Fowler together with Kate Horsley from Lancaster University, who supplied the art work, The exhibition was co-sponsored by Arts Council England. It profiled the work of a wide selection of Manchester authors and genres since 1960, and also had panels featuring the work of the city's key writing organisations and publishers (Commonword, Gatehouse, Comma Press and Carcarnet). In addition, an official launch of the exhibition paid special tribute to the work of celebrated Manchester performance poet, Dike Omeje, who died in 2007 and whose portrait was featured on the exhibition posters. The exhibition was covered by both the local and the national press. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Title | Evening Performance at 'Glocal Imaginaries' conference including the launch of the 'Moving Manchester' anthology, 'Migration Stories' |
| Description | Six contributors to the 'Migration Stories' collection performed at this event, which was attended by c. 100 delegates and members of the public. The evening also featured a new work by Manchester-based performance poet Shamshad Khan, which was itself commissioned as part of the special edition of 'Moving Worlds'. The Arts Council contributed towards the cost of this event. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Title | Evening Performance at the Whitworth 'Creative Arts Day' |
| Description | Poet and novelist Jackie Kay headlined this event which also premiered the 'Moving Manchester' commission won by John Siddique. The photographs that accompany Siddique's poems were also exhibited in the South Gallery exhibition. Music was provided by the Congolese band, 'Les Elus'. Approximately 100 people attended this event. The Arts Council provided financial support for the event.. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Title | Whitworth 'Creative Arts Day' Exhibition |
| Description | When it was decided to hold the final day of the 'Glocal Imaginaries' conference in Manchester and make it a 'creative arts' event on the theme of writing and migration, the Whitworth presented itself as an ideal venue. In the South Gallery we displayed an exhibition on theme of the conference featuring art works in different media from around the world. The exhibition was curated and administered by Lynne Pearce and Darien Rozentals from Manchester University, with art work and graphic design provided by Dr Kate Horsley of Lancaster University. While some of the exhibits appertained directly to the 'Moving Manchester' project (for example, the photographs that accompanied John Siddique's p1rize-winning commissioned poem), a large number of the exhibits originated in Maggie O'Neill's 'Sense of Belonging' exhibition (itself deriving from an AHRC-sponsored project). |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Description | The research undertaken by the 'Moving Manchester' project team has made a signficant contribution to the reconceptualisation of literary culture in Britain post-1960 through its focus on the work of black and Asian writers and the contemporary writing scene outside of London. In particular, our focus on the historical/material practices of the publishing industry exposed how difficult it is for writers living and working outside of London to get published and/or reviewed. In this regard, the project book - Poscolonial Manchester - is an important counterpart to John MacLeod's Postcolonial London (2004) and part of an on-going mission to 'devolve' the canon of English Literature taught in schools and Universities. |
| Exploitation Route | The Research Associate on the project, Dr Corinne Fowler (now Senior Lecturer at the University of Leicester) has been awarded Arts Council funding for a similar project to support and develop the work of BME writers in the East Midlands. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy Education Culture Heritage Museums and Collections |
| URL | http://www.transculturalwriting.com/movingmanchester/index.htm |
| Description | The writing community with which we worked in Manchester - in particular, the third-sector literature development organisation, Commonword/Cultureword - has continued to benefit from the work of the 'Postcolonial Manchester' project. In 2007/8 Commonword was a risk of losing its Arts Council Funding (after 40 years of operating in the city) and the letter of support I wrote to the appeal committee - along with a copy of our 326pp project book, 'Postcolonial Manchester', which records the major social/historical signficance of the organisation as well as the achievements of its writers - is understood to have been of major importance in reversing the decision. The careers of of individual authors have also been positively enhanced by the publicity afforded by the project: in particular, our PhD students Rajeev Balasumbramanyam and Tariq Mehmood (both of whom have published the novels they wrote for their PhDs), Qaisra Shahraz (who has recently had a critical volume published on her work) and Shamshad Khan. Shamshad Khan and SuAndi OBE also participated in a follow-up KE project - 'North-West Writers into School's (funded by Lancaster University) in 2013/14. More recently, Manchester has been awarded UNESCO status as a city of literature and copies of the project book, 'Postcolonial Manchester' (recently republished in paperback) have been requested for working party seeking to capitalise on the honour. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2007 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Creative Economy,Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural Societal Economic |
| Description | Knowledge Exchange Fellowship |
| Amount | £8,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Lancaster University |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2014 |
| End | 07/2015 |
| Description | Consultancy for workshops on research funding |
| Organisation | Missenden Centre |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Since 2007 Robert Crawshaw has worked as a consultant for workshops on research funding at the Centre for Higher Education, Missenden, as well as 'on-site' at numerous Universities throughout the UK (Coventry, Sussex, Exeter, Dundee, University of the Arts, London, SOAS). The bid for the 'Moving Manchester' project features as an example of 'good practice' at these workshops which have been well-received by academics and administrators from around the world. |
| Start Year | 2007 |
| Description | North-West Writers into Schools (follow-up to 'Moving Manchester' project) |
| Organisation | Commonword |
| Department | Cultureword |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | The objective of this follow-up project was to feature the work of some of the black/Asian writers associated with the 'Moving Manchester' project on the syllabuses of the local schools; by participating in the project, the schools concerned would undertake to keep these writers on their syllabuses for at least three years, thus ensuring the impact and longevity of the initiative and distinguishing it from other 'writers-into-schools' projects which tend to deliver 'one-off' events. Given that all the participating schools elected to involve whole year-groups in the project, nearly 800 pupils were thus introduced to the work of our two writers over a period of several weeks and, as a result of the workshops associated with the visits, given the opportunity to produce and perform their own creative writing. The project ran almost entirely to the plan, the only significant change being that it was decided early on to work with four schools in the region rather than the original eight. This steer was given by our KE partner, Commonword, who also advised on which writers would be best suited to the project and which schools to contact. The writers appointed were SuAndi and Shamshad Khan, while the participating schools were: Abraham Moss Community School; Chorlton High School; Trinity C of E High School; and Lancaster Girls' Grammar School. The project was also supported by two excellent Research Assistants, Sarah Ilott and Helen Davies and two web-designers, Lee Horsley and Kate Horsley (please see project website for full details of the project team). |
| Collaborator Contribution | As noted above, it was always our aim for this to be more than an initiative which brought school pupils into contact with writers through their performances/workshops. Valuable as these experiences are for the children concerned, our objective was to ensure that the work of these writers was made part of the syllabus for the year groups concerned for a number of years, and that this year's pupils would have been studying the work of SuAndi and Shamshad for several weeks before and /or after the visits. To this end, RA Sarah Ilott spent four months developing teaching materials for use by the teachers/pupils (this included contextual/historical background for many of the themes /issues identified by the schools as being of particular interest and classroom exercises based on particular poems). See website for details (although some materials were restricted and placed on a Teachers' Forum). With its origins in the research undertaken for the Moving Manchester project and, in particular, the project monograph, Postcolonial Manchester, the whole initiative may be seen as an excellent example of 'impact' as defined by REF. Because of the size of the year groups involved in the project, its reach was considerable. Each of the schools involved one or two year-groups. The break-down is as follows: Trinity C of E School: the whole of Year 8 (250 pupils) Chorlton High School: x3 classes of 31 (93 pupils) Abraham Moss Community School: the whole of Year 9 (240 pupils) Lancaster Girls Grammar School: Years 7 and 8 (200+ pupils) This means that nearly 800 pupils from the North-West have been introduced to the work of two of the region's best-known poets and have studied their work as part of their syllabus. If the schools continue to work with this material for a further x2 years as planned, a total of 2,400 - 2,500 pupils may be seen to have been involved. Both the initial applications we received from the schools (which have been archived and may be provided on request) and the feedback we received the retrospective questionnaires have been overwhelmingly supportive and enthusiastic. Here are some examples: "The experience was rewarding for the whole of Year 9. Moreover, the 30/40 pupils who took part in the workshops that the writers facilitated found this even more rewarding. This was evidenced by the high level of creative writing that pupils by the end of the two-week project." (Abraham Moss) "Comments from pupils have mentioned both talks as being inspirational in terms of getting them thinking about their own viewpoints and being encouraged to write creatively. They also commented on the work helping them understand how to analyse poetry and perform confidently." (Abraham Moss) "Although some of the issues raised in the poems and poets' talks were controversial - many of our pupils related closely to the experiences of Shamshad and SuAndi and therefore were able to deal with these issues maturely." (Abraham Moss) "Shamshad and SuAndi highlighted to pupils how poetry allowed them to express themselves in a non-standard way and this appealed to many of our pupils who struggle with the use of Standard English". (Abraham Moss) "The sheets with the suggested activities for each poem were very helpful and supported us with planning the lessons." (Abraham Moss) "It certainly was a positive experience and one that they did not expect. The two poets were very different in their approach to portraying what they do and the poems they write. This catered for a variety of experiences in one session." (Chorlton) "They thoroughly enjoyed the workshops and perhaps the performance time could have been shorter to allow more time for the workshop experience. They enjoyed having time to talk to the poets and read aloud their work and get instant feedback. The fact that he poets' poems were on the curriculum and had been studied previously added a sense of excitement to the visit." (Chorlton) "The most enjoyable aspect for the pupils was the chance to create their own poetry inspired by Shamshad's Pot poem and to perform it on a microphone to the poets". (Trinity) "The visits were a success. The pupils rarely get a chance to see poems performed live so to hear the poems they had studied performed by the poets added to their experience. However we felt the poets could have performed more poems and less time doing Q & A." (Trinity) "[The biggest learning outcome was . . .] being able to write poetry in a relatively condensed period of time". (LGGS) "[on complementing the school curriculum] Yes, I think in particular SuAndi's poems about family fit well with others such as 'Island Man' and 'Presents from my Aunts in Pakistan' both of which we have studied on KS3." (LGGS) "[on whether the visits were a success] Yes, the pupils on the whole were very receptive, and particularly enjoyed working with Shamshad Khan and SuAndi. SuAndi's whole group poem was enjoyable and Shamshad's balloon is still on display in the hall." (LGGS) |
| Impact | Apart from proving a great success / benefit for its main beneficiaries - i.e., the participating schools - the project also provided an excellent professional development opportunity for its two RAs which may be seen to have delivered tangible outcomes. Sarah Ilott, who was appointed to a temporary lectureship at Teeside while working on the project, has recently had the post made permanent and strongly believes that her RA work on the 'Moving Manchester' project, including this latest initiative, strengthened her case. Meanwhile, Helen Davies, who determined on a career in teaching soon after starting work on the project, confirmed that her practical involvement with the schools undoubtedly supported her application for a place on a teacher-training scheme. Needless to say, this work also provided these young colleagues with useful additional income at a challenging time in their careers. As well as delivering verifiable and measurable impact in and of itself, there was also good news publicity for the project including a feature in the Lancaster Guardian and a live interview/broadcast on the BBC Asian Network arts programme, 'Indus' (Radio Manchester/Radio Lancashire) [Lynne Pearce and Shamshad Khan] earlier in the year. Lynne Pearce also wrote a blog about it which featured on the Lancaster University website. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | 'Creative Manchester' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Primary Audience | Participants in your research or patient groups |
| Results and Impact | Corinne Fowler was invited to join a panel with Michael Schmidt, Carcanet Press, Cathy Bolton (Director of Manchester Literature Festival) and Shamshad Khan (poet) at the University of Manchester's Research Insititute for Cosmopolitan Cultures public forum. The workshop was one of two high-profile events designed to challenge the view that immigrants must be integrated into Manchester's society and culture and was supported by a number of organisations including CUBE (Centre for the Built Environment), the John Monnet Centre of Excellence and the Migration and Diaspora Cultural Studies Network. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |
| Description | Being in the world, space-time compression and narratives of migration |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Participants in your research or patient groups |
| Results and Impact | Robert Crawshaw was an invited speaker to the Institute for Advanced Study, Kulturelle Grundlagen von Integration, at the University of Konstanz, Germany. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2008 |
| Description | Interview with Lynne Pearce |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The BBC Manchester website (Arts and Literature): The 'Moving Manchester' project has been featured on the BBC Manchester website since 2006 and includes an interview with Lynne Pearce. See: www.bbc.co.uk/print/manchester/content/articles/2006/11/091106_moving_manchester/ |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2006 |
| Description | Lynne Pearce interviewed by Talat Farouq on the BBC radio Asian Network programme, Talus. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This was a live broadcast at Media City that included discussion of several of the writers associated with the 'Moving Manchester' project as well as discussion of the North-South divide in British publishing and how this has been especially detrimental to black and Asian writers from the North West. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Lynne Pearce interviewed on BBC Radio Lancashire Breakfast programme about the continuing North-South divide in British publishing in connection with the publication of 'Postcolonial Manchester'. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Radio interview on continuing North-South divide in British publishing. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Manchester Central Library Exhibition, 'Writing Manchester' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This was featured in the 'Events' section of the 'Manchester Evening News' on 2/10/2009 (the day of the library launch). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |
| Description | Moving Manchester author, Pete Kalu, to appear on the BBC Radio 4 lunchtime series, presented by Martin Wainwright, on the continuing North-South divide in British culture. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Moving Manchester author, Pete Kalu, to appear on the BBC Radio 4 lunchtime series, presented by Martin Wainwright, on the continuing North-South divide in British culture. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Press coverage of Manchester Central Library exhibition, 'Writing Manchester' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Primary Audience | |
| Results and Impact | As hoped and expected, the exhibition received coverage in the local and national press including: - 06/10/2009 - Fleetwood Weekly News (Online) - 05/10/2009 - Luton News (Online) - 05/10/2009 - Scarborough Evening News (Online) - 05/10/2009 - Sussex Express (Online) - 05/10/2009 - Ripon Today - 05/10/2009 - The Star (Online) - 05/10/2009 - Milton Keynes Citizen Series (Online) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |
| Description | Visits made by overseas visitor: Professor Susan Rowley |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | |
| Results and Impact | Professor Susan Rowley, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) at UTS, Melbourne, visited the Project Team while on a VIP visit to the University. She put us in touch with colleagues at DIT, Dublin, 'Interactions' and promoted the 'Glocal Imaginaries' conference to colleagues in Australia to positive effect. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2008 |