We’re challenging the status quo on every front. Alongside elevating marginalised voices through our workshops and writing programmes we’re also changing society’s perception of literature and spoken word through our projects.
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Hard Pressed
Manchester has a rich literary heritage, but much of it is hidden and in this digital era it risks being lost forever. The independent scene used shoestring budgets to take huge publishing risks but it paid off with the bravery and brilliance it showcased. This fringe literary scene helped sustain a lively community of writers giving a platform to opinions sidelined by the mainstream. These presses and writers deserve a place in the city’s history.
Cultureword has been awarded a grant by The National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) to deliver Hard Pressed: Mapping Manchester’s Small Radical Presses. This two-year project will recover and celebrate the hidden heritage of Manchester’s independent fiction publishers and the live poetry scene that grew from them. It builds on Cultureword’s previous archive project which explored the origins of the organisation and its vital role in regional literature development.
Commonword Archive
Commonword started in the late 1970s with the aim of offering working class writers the chance to write their own stories using their own voices. Cultureword, set-up in 1986, was a programme dedicated to Black and Asian writers founded by Lemn Sissay.
The Commonword Archive documents the publications and writers developed during the organisation’s eminent history. The project website includes a timeline, writer profiles and an image gallery.
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