A Small Eternity

If you haven’t already, we recommend you check out the current exhibition at The John Rylands Library on Deansgate - A Small Eternity: The Shape of the Sonnet Through Time. Using sumptuously illuminated books, rare and early printed editions, unique literary manuscripts and writers' letters, the exhibition traces some of the stories told by the sonnet and explores why poets have felt compelled to write them. It contains examples of the work of a diverse range of sonneteers from Petrarch to Vikram Seth, and Wilfred Owen to Lorna Goodison - plus visitors are invited to pen their own sonnet and add it to the display!

There is an additional incentive for visiting when the distinguished critic and scholar Professor Stephen Burt will be giving a lecture on Thursday 26th March at 6.00pm in the Reading Room of the Rylands entitled "Sonnets Past and Present". Professor Michael Schmdit OBE, FRSL, will be introducing him and chairing a Q&A session afterwards. This is a free event and there is no need to book.

For more inforamtion Tel 0161 834 5343 or visit: http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/

Passing Down Exhibition

An exhibition of The Passing Down project, supported by Manchester Literature Festival and Manchester Science Festival, is now being exhibited at NOWGEN on Grafton Street. The project was conceived by poet Helen Clare to explore how stories and ideas are passed down in families and how people make sense of inheritance in their own lives. During Autumn 2008 Helen worked with a number of community and writing groups, schools and events, including Cultureword, The Monday Night Group, Full Circle Arts, MoSI, Cartwheel Arts, Greater Manchester Science Network, The BA Festival of Science and Salford Libraries. People’s ideas were collated and organised by Helen and the textile artwork was designed and made by artist Lynn Setterington. For more information about the project and exhibition please visit the genesand stories blog