25
June
2024
|
17:09
Europe/London
Festival of Libraries 2024: Celebrating libraries and creativity across Greater Manchester
12-16 June saw the return of Manchester City of Literature’s Festival of Libraries, taking place across the whole of Greater Manchester to celebrate the vital role that libraries play in wellbeing, culture and creativity.
Creative Manchester – the University’s creativity-championing research platform – hosted five workshop sessions in partnership with the Centre for New Writing, Programme in American Studies, and Linguistic Diversity Collective.
‘Writing for Wellbeing’ took place at Tameside, Rochdale and Bury Libraries on 13 - 15 June. Facilitators Rebecca Hurst, Tessa Harris and John McAuliffe worked with participants to explore the benefits of creative writing on personal wellbeing.
One attendee commented:
“
To learn at 67 years I don't need to wait but can just access past memories and unconnected stimuli to write a poem is amazing.
„
‘Tasting Children’s Literature – An Edible Readathon’ workshop
‘Tasting Children’s Literature – An Edible Readathon’ returned on Friday, 14 June with two sessions: a private workshop for Reception children at St. Andrew’s C of E Primary School Levenshulme, held at Arcadia Library, and a public session at Manchester Central Library. Children enjoyed a storytime session with play food, colouring activities, and fruits to eat.
The Linguistic Diversity Collective held two well-attended workshops at The Portico Library on 12 and 14 June. The first, ‘What’s in a word and what’s in a dictionary?’ saw attendees take part in activities looking at how dictionaries define words and phrases.
‘Blackout the jargon’ then invited participants to engage with scientific literature in a unique way through blackout poetry.
Supported by Arts Council England, the Festival of Libraries 2024 was a testament to Manchester’s enduring commitment to literacy, learning, and inclusivity.
Find out more about the Festival of Libraries here.