Poetry Health Service In Residence

‘Come, come, whoever you are, wanderer, worshipper, lover of leaving, it doesn’t matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair.’ RUMI

Manchester Poetry Library welcomes Hafsah Aneela Bashir and the Poetry Health Service to be in residence for the inaugural Manchester Festival of Libraries. The Poetry Health Service is a project inspired by the miracle of love, human connection and the healing power of poetry.

As part of her residency with Manchester Poetry Library, Hafsah will be running writing workshops with a range of organisations including 42nd Street, Afrocats and the Manchester Islamic High School for Girls. The workshops will explore poems as panaceas that have provided hope, freedom and solace during these difficult times, and consider the power of language through the lens of ‘kindness’.

Anyone can sign up to the Poetry Health Service to receive a specific poetry panacea. Open to all, participants will be gifted a complimentary poem, and have the opportunity to respond to their poetry panacea with a Haiku of their own.

The residency will conclude with a collaborative Twitter poem on Sunday 13 June from 12-2pm which is open to everyone.