Patrick Prockter: Art & Life

Patrick Procktor and his great friend David Hockney were known as “the dandy twins of the art world” in the 1960s. An outstanding portrait artist, the 60s icons Procktor painted were also his friends - Jagger, Hendrix and the playwright Joe Orton, whose portrait now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery.

Forever in the shadow of his great friend David Hockney Patrick Procktor died, lonely and alcoholic, in obscurity in 2003. Yet, at the height of his fame during the 1960s, he was as famous as Hockney, whom he had met whilst still at art school - he at the Slade, Hockney at the more experimental Royal College of Art.

Flamboyant and controversial, in his prime 6ft 6in Procktor was an unmissable figure on the bohemian party circuit. Greatly loved by his friends who included Lord Snowdon, Princess Margaret, the photographer Cecil Beaton, the director Derek Jarman & the designers Ossie Clark & Celia Birtwell, he was outrageous and always entertaining.

He painted many of the cultural icons he partied with - Mick Jagger, Jimi Hendrix and the playwright Joe Orton, whose portrait by Procktor now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery.

Ian Massey, an artist himself and a senior lecturer in the Communication Arts & Design Department at the University of Huddersfield, has written the first fully comprehensive retrospective account of Procktor's life & work - 'PATRICK PROCKTOR, ART & LIFE' - which has been published by Unicorn Press to rave reviews:-

"This handsome, copiously illustrated, well-researched and sensitive appraisal of the art and artist" (John McEwen, 'The Spectator')

"Procktor finally gets his due....tirelessly researched biography, rich anecdotes, and stories of Britain's postwar queer creative class" (Jordan Hruska, 'Out')

"'Patrick Procktor, Art & Life' is more than a biography, it is social history at its best"  (David Plante, 'Chroma Journal Online')


Becker Room, First Floor, City Library
Thursday 9 September, 6.30 FREE

Dave Haslam in conversation with Professor Germaine Greer

On Saturday 9 October author and DJ Dave Haslam will be in-conversation with Germaine Greer at the Green Room in Manchester. It's part of Dave's 'Close Up' series, a series of exclusive opportunities to get up close and personal with musicians, writers, artists and actors discussing their life and work.

One of feminism’s best known names, Germaine Greer established her legendary reputation in the late 1960s with the ‘The Female Eunuch’ and contributions to underground magazines like ‘Oz’ and ‘Suck’. Since then she has had a distinguished academic career, has become an influential journalist, and has made regular radio and TV appearances, including a short-lived appearance as a contestant on ‘Celebrity Big Brother'.

Following the in-conversation with Dave Haslam, Professor Greer will take questions from the audience. The event will start at 8pm and will last approximately 90 minutes. From 9.30-11 there will be an official after-party in the greenroom bar featuring DJ Gregling ('Off the Hook').

Tickets are £9 in advance or £6 concessions available direct from the Green Room box office either in person or by phone 0161 615 0500 or online atwww.quaytickets.com.

You can read more interviews by Dave on his website www.davehaslam.com or see details of other ‘Close Up’ events.

Manchester reads the sixties with Lynn Barber

o celebrate Penguin’s 75th birthday, Manchester is taking part in a national Decades Read-a-thon.

We’re delighted to be looking at the 1960s – a decade which produced such classics as A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess and Another Part of the Wood by Beryl Bainbridge.

Join a fabulous line-up of 60s book champions including journalist Lynn Barber (author of An Education), Anthony Burgess’s biographer Andrew Biswell and Professor Ian Haywood, author of Working-Class Fiction: from Chartism to Trainspotting.

Each will champion their choice from the list and discuss which books best represent the 60s, and which decade was the most fertile for literary invention. In the chair is Penguin’s Editorial Director, Tony Lacey.

This event is part of the Manchester Weekender: forty-eight hours in the life of the city - for more information please visit www.creativetourist.com/weekender

Tickets £3 - or £2 with a library ticket! Book on 0843 208 0500 or at www.manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk

International Anthony Burgess Foundation,
The Engine House, Chorlton Mill, Cambridge Street
Friday 1 October, 6.30

Manchester reads the sixties: two great events

Penguin Publishing is marking its 75th birthday by republishing beautiful new editions of its landmark novels from the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s. Four English cities, including Manchester, are being invited to join the celebration by each reading books from one of the decades above. Manchester has been asked to read the sixties and our featured 60s novels are:

A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess (1962)
The Millstone - Margaret Drabble (1965)
The British Museum is Falling Down - David Lodge (1965)
A Kestrel for a Knave - Barry Hines (1968)
Another Part of the Wood - Beryl Bainbridge (1968)

You’ll find copies of all the novels on the first floor at City Library, on Deansgate, or reserve them free of charge and collect them from a library of your choice. Once you've read one or all of the books join us on Tuesday 14 September at City Library for a lively evening to discuss the 60s list, its authors and how they reflect the era.

Refreshments served, no need to book.
For more details please call Libby Tempest on 0161 234 1981 or email l.tempest@manchester.gov.uk

Becker Room, City Library, Deansgate
Tuesday 14 September 6.30pm

Manchester Reads the 60s with Lynn Barber

You are also invited to join Join Tony Lacey (Editorial Director of Penguin), 60s book champions Lynn Barber (journalist and author of An Education), Dr Andrew Biswell (Director of the Creative Writing School, Manchester Metropolitan University and author of The Real Life of Anthony Burgess) and Ian Haywood (Professor of English at the University of Surrey Roehampton and author of Working-Class Fiction: from Chartism to Trainspotting) as well as members of Manchester’s library reading groups for a passionate discussion about which books best represent the 60s, and which decade was the most fertile for literary invention. Tickets £3/£2 concessions and library members. Book on 0843 208 0500 or from Quay Tickets.

Friday 1st October, 6.30pm
International Anthony Burgess Foundation
The Engine House
Chorlton Mill
3 Cambridge Street
Manchester M1 5BY

This event is being organised in partnership with the Manchester Literature Festival and is part of the Manchester Weekender: forty-eight hours in the life of the city - for more information please visit www.creativetourist.com/weekender

£5000 prize poetry competition still open for entries!

Now in its 33rd year, the Poetry Society’s National Poetry Competition is one of the world’s biggest and most prestigious poetry competitions.

Winners include both established and emerging poets and for many the prize has proved an important milestone in their professional careers.

Add your name to a roll-call of winners that includes Carol Ann Duffy, Ian Duhig, Philip Gross, and Jo Shapcott – and have your work published in the Poetry Society’s leading international journal, Poetry Review.

The judges this year are poets George Szirtes, Deryn Rees-Jones and Sinéad Morrissey. The prizes are: £5,000 for the overall winner, £2,000 for the second, £1,000 for the third and seven commendations of £100. The deadline is 31st October. Enter online or download an entry form at www.poetrysociety.org.uk

Free creative writing workshop in Wythenshawe

To support our Flashback Fiction historical writing competition, writer Margaret Murphy is running a workshop on how to create historical characters, period and detail. Using short examples from their favourite authors, participants will be encouraged to write a short piece or story, as a basis for entering the competition or simply to try their hand at writing historical fiction.

 For details of the competition see  http://www.time-to-read.co.uk/read

This course is free but places will get snapped up quickly. Book your place - email Rose Ryan, Reader Development Coordinator:  r.ryan@manchester.gov.uk or Telephone 0161 234 1317.


Forum Library
Saturday, 4th September  2010
1 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Random House feature Lit List on their website

We're delighted to tell you that the ReadersPlace team were so impressed with guest blogger Rebecca's Lit List book review  they made it the main feature on Book of the Month.

Rebecca's review gets pride of place on ReadersPlace

Rebecca won a copy of The Wonder after Vintage Books kindly donated 15 copies exclusively to Manchester Library Facebook fans and last week she chatted with author Diana Evans online at Readers Place.

Sherlock Holmes: where to get free ebooks and audiobooks

According to The Bookseller the Beeb's much-lauded detective series “Sherlock” has boosted sales of titles about his pipe-smoking namesake, as the show looks set for renewal.

Sales of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories have jumped 180% in three weeks, while related titles, including The Sherlock Holmes Handbook, have also received boosts.

But why pay for books when you can legally download for free? Project Gutenberg has over forty Conan Doyle books available - for a list of  titles visit the A to Z list of authors and scroll down to Doyle.

Here's a link to The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes audiobook which is available in several different formats including Apple iTunes. Ebooks are also available in the ePub format and for Mobipocket - just scroll to the bottom of the list.

If you've got a smartphone or iPod try the new Project Gutenberg mobile site and read Conan Doyle books on your phone. It's great! I've just downloaded a free audiobook of The Complete Adventures of Sherlock Holmes to my phone. The mobile site is simple to search and has bundled lists of books by genre so you can browse other subjects easily - Project Gutenberg has over 33,000 free ebooks to read on your PC, iPad, Kindle, Sony Reader, iPhone, Android or other portable device.

Reader book review: The Wonder

Today's guest blogger is Rebecca, who says she is always on the look out for a good book to read on her commute to work. A Manchester-based copywriter, she fills her free time with reading, knitting, city breaks, real ale and learning Italian. Rebecca is reviewing The Wonder by Orange prizewinner Diana Evans. ...


The Wonder, Diana Evans

I really enjoyed this book. Is it the done thing to start a review with such a statement of personal preference? Well, I’ve done it now so there it is.
Focussing on the stories of father and son, Antoney and Lucas, The Wonder tells of secrets, passions, talent and family relationships. When Lucas decides to go through an old wardrobe in his canal boat home, he finds clues to his fathers past, the fleetingly successful Midnight Ballet, and a cacophony of characters, each with their own story. Digging further he meets people who were once close to his father, including the aloof and somehow rueful Simone, and Riley, the reviewer who became seemingly obsessed with Antoney Matheus.
It’s a book that draws you in. You cannot help but wonder what happened to Antoney and, eventually, Lucas. I’m not one to try and second guess a plot but with The Wonder I found myself working through possible outcomes really early on.
The characterisation is really interesting. Even the characters that could be classed as ‘peripheral’ are intriguing. Denise with her determination, what else does she know? Riley, who makes for uncomfortable reading at times, and the dancers in the Midnight Ballet, each and every one could be a fully-fledged main character in their own right. On the other hand, whereas we get under the skin of Antoney, there seems to be so much more I’d like to have known about Lucas. A follow up book perhaps…?
But the greatest strength of the book is Diana Evans’ description of dance. It is so evocative. The rhythm of the language perfectly sums up the grace and energy of the dance it describes. Weaving the story of Nijinsky’s throughout the book – his amazing leap and eventual demise – adds another dimension to the language of dance.
It’s a story of potentials, almost all unfulfilled, and the secrets that lie just beneath the surface of a family history. All in all, it’s definitely worth a read.
***********************************
Massive thanks to Rebecca for the review and also thank you to Vintage Books, who kindly donated 15 copies of The Wonder to Manchester Library Facebook followers.

The Red Ceilings - Call for Submissions

We are inviting submissions of poetry for publication on the Red Ceilings Blog, and for longer pieces or small collections on The Red Ceilings Press. Take a look at the site and if you think your work is suitable then send it either in the body of an email or as an attachment to the red ceilings.

Quinfin - a new book suggestion tool

Quinfin is a new online "what shall I read next" website. You input five books you've read or especially enjoyed and it suggests your next read.

I love testing these! I entered my five favourite books (well, for this week anyway) and waited excitedly for the suggestion...

The books I entered were:

Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban
The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
A Trip to the Stars by Nicholas Christopher
Depths by Henning Mankell

So far so good. Quinfin recognised all my books and I liked the way it displayed book covers (I'm easily pleased). Excitedly I clicked on the 'next suggestion' link. What should I read next? For my next read Quinfin suggested...nothing! The website said:

"We couldn't find any more suggestions so far. At present the database still needs growing and / or some books may be in your library already. Please invite your friends to share their booklists. You'll quickly get results then :)."

Doh! Did you fair any better?

Flashback Fiction 500 word story competition

Flashback Fiction is a short story competition that asks you to bring the past to life in no more than 500 words.

Have you been inspired by a story you have heard, or read, or perhaps by a visit you have made to a historic site, museum or library?

Create a very short story which uses history in some way. It could be set in a historic house, use real or imaginary historic characters or use events from the past anywhere in the world set before 1960.

Submit your entry over at the Time to Read website by October 31 2010. Flashback Fiction is part of the Pages Ago promotion of history reading running across North West Libraries during 2010. Check out the historical fiction booklists on the website for inspiration.

The competition is open to anyone who is a resident of the North West region of England . NW region comprises residents of the following 23 Public Library Authorities: Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Bolton, Bury, Cheshire East, West Cheshire with Chester, Cumbria, Halton, Knowsley, Lancashire, Liverpool, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Sefton, St Helens, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Warrington, Wigan, Wirral.

For further information, comments or suggestions, please contact Jane Mathieson, the Regional Reader Development Co-ordinator on 0161 234 1210 or Email - j.mathieson@manchester.gov.uk

Now enrolling: EnjoyingJames Joyce's Ulysses

The WEA are running a brand new course on James Joyce's Ulysses starting in September 2010. The course is being held in the Union Chapel, Fallowfield and there will be 10 meetings. It costs £60, but is free to anyone on benefits.

More details can be found on WEA website www.nw.wea.org.uk .

PLEASE REGISTER IN ADVANCE if possible! The advanced enrollment system is only available until Sept 22nd - a week before the 1st meeting on Sept 29th.

Ulysses is available as a free ebook from Project Gutenberg.

Webchat with Diana Evans tomorrow

Reading The Wonder? Sign up for tomorrow's webchat with the author Diana Evans here http://www.rchatrandom.co.uk/ Can you help us out and let your friends know that you need to sign up by today!!

Here is a quick user guide:



1. Times

12th August
7-8pm GMT

2. Guest

Diana Evans

3. Participants

Bearstead Reading Association, Onward Book Group Plymouth and Facebook & Twitter followers of Manchester Library are currently reading the book and will join us for the online chat.

The chat is being advertised across Random House Group websites and newsletters, as well as on the Reading Agency’s events calendar to also attract individual readers.

The event will be a great opportunity to submit questions to the author personally, as well as to share opinions with readers from other reading groups.

4. Process

When logging in you will find that the forum looks very easy to use. It is very intuitive and user-friendly.

4.1. Before we start…

Please sign up to our forum by 10th August at http://www.rchatrandom.co.uk/

On 12th August, please log on with your registration details shortly before the chat of the book begins. The forum can be accessed from any PC.

When the chat forum opens, feel free to ask Diana Evans your questions, or share your personal comments on the book with other participants.

You can reply to a specific question by clicking the reply button and typing in your message. Click on save and your message appears.

Depending on the amount of questions posted within the hour, we appreciate that Diana may not be able to answer all of your questions or may not be able to contribute to every single discussion point.

We only invited dedicated book lovers, however, in the unlikely event of an unwanted message, we will take it down immediately.

We will be happy to organise a brief 10-15 minutes test run prior 12th August so you can familiarise yourself with the chat room.

4.3 And afterwards…

After the discussion hour we will close the forum so that no further comments can be posted. The discussion is valuable content to other readers and can serve as promotion for your reading group. We will make it available on our website for future references and further book promotion.

Top fifty most borrowed books for August

Do you want to know what's hot in Manchester Libraries right now? There's a new link on the library catalogue that can take you to the 50 most popular books this month in Manchester Libraries.

Kathy Reichs is in pole position for August with 206 Bones, taking us back into the world of forensic pathologist Dr Temperance Brennan.

James Patterson, Anita Shreve, Sophie Mackenzie, Mark Billingham, Stephanie Meyer, Jeffrey Deaver, Trevor Baxendale, Josephine Cox and Karin Slaughter make up the top ten.

Not suprisingly each book in Stieg Larsson's Millenium Trilogy, starting with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, are in the top fifty.

And being massive Corrie fans we're also pleased Bev Callard's autobiography 'Unbroken' is in the top fifty this month. Bev's flying the flag for non-fiction too, as her book is the only non-fiction title in our August charts.

You can reserve any of the books in the top fifty for free from the online catalogue and we will email you when your book is ready to pick up.

Have a look at the 50 most borrowed books in Manchester Libraries at http://bit.ly/bgh5zq.

August's Poem of the Month

August's Poem of the Month is by Kevin from Chapel-en-le- Frith in Derbyshire. Kevin has been writing poems/prose for many years and is also a musician. He plays a number of instruments and has a home studio where he spends a lot of time writing. He also loves travelling and has been many places around the world. More of Kevin's poetry can be found at www.poetrypoem.com/poet5576.

The Sunlight Shaped Her Bright Melting Mouth

The sunlight shaped her bright melting mouth,
beside the white wall flowers she knelt,
as an artist nearby drank in her beauty,
I watched her as gentle as flaxen down.

The sunlight shaped her bright melting mouth,
I gazed long for I dared not sleep,
she bought unto me the swallows and stars,
and a calm not even my craft can solace.

The sunlight shaped her bright melting mouth,
as a sculptor might shape his image,
like the tattooed canvas of an August day,
she would lie red rose and dappled on the singing dew.

The sunlight shaped her bright melting mouth,
lips that laugh behind a whisper of hair,
lips that never speak with the sting of a wasp,
for the perfection she posses she gives it to me.

Free Akala gig at Longsight Library

Manchester music fans are invited to Longsight Library on Saturday 21 August for a a special gig by award-winning hip-hop star Akala.

Akala’s performance will be followed by a Question and Answer session where he will discuss his love for reading, and particularly his new album ‘Double Think’ which was inspired by George Orwell’s 1984, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We.

Akala’s performance is part of a nationwide tour of libraries, and is the result of a partnership with the national charity The Reading Agency and his own Hip-Hop Shakespeare Company. The tour is part of a major drive to increase young people’s interest in reading and transform the way they think about libraries. The tour will climax with a show at the British Library in London.

Akala, winner of the 2006 Best Hip-Hop Artist MOBO Award, said: “I’m really excited about this library tour and hope that it will open young people’s eyes and help them to see libraries as thriving hubs of creativity, rather than stuffy, solitary places. My passion for reading pervades my own creative work and new album, so I also hope that these performances will challenge preconceptions and encourage young people to develop a passion for reading and words.”

Edutainment is a familiar concept to Akala: he launched The Hip-hop Shakespeare Company in 2009, a hotly-tipped music theatre production education company. His prowess at communicating effectively with young people has resulted in collaborations with Arts Council, London 2012, the National Youth Theatre and numerous appearances on BBC2’s Newsnight Review.

Akala, alongside his renowned drummer, Cassell The Beatmaker have developed a reputation for stellar live performances. Having supported M.I.A., Christina Aguilera, Jay-Z, Richard Ashcroft, DJ Shadow and Siouxsie Sue on their U.K. tours, headlined three full UK/European tours, numerous festival appearances including (Glastonbury, Wireless and V Festival) and played venues at 2008’s SXSW. Akala has also had numerous T.V. performances on T4 and BBC2, worked with the British Council promoting British culture abroad, performing a series of concerts in Nigeria and in Vietnam as the first-ever hip hop artist to perform live.

Akala played at Birmingham Library in July and young people in the audience responded positively. One described the show as ‘An inspiration! Should happen more often and Akala’s message would be huge!”

Ruth Harrison, project manager at The Reading Agency, said: ‘At The Reading Agency, we want to transform the way libraries engage with young people and broaden the definition of reading. What better way to do this than bringing an acclaimed hip-hop artist such as Akala to libraries around the country, to perform and talk about how reading has inspired his own work.

‘It is fantastic that so many 21st century libraries across the UK now offer a new, lively service and we strongly believe that old fashioned attitudes to reading and libraries must change and that teens need to be engaged on their own terms, if they are to develop a lifelong passion for reading.’

Akala LIVE at Longsight Library!
Saturday 21 August @ 3pm

Akala plays Longsight Library & Learning Centre on Saturday 21 August at 3pm. It's a free show but you do need to get a ticket. Email Danny Middleton on d.middleton@manchester.gov.uk for your ticket.

Listen to Akala at Akalamusic.com

Manchester Literature Festival news

Manchester Literature Festival 2010 will take place 14 - 25 October and the full programme details are due to be announced this month on the festival website. Word has reached us that writers will be travelling to Manchester from as far afield as North Africa, China, Scandinavia and the United States to take part and the line up includes Bernard Cornwell, Carol Ann Duffy, Seamus Heaney, Caryl Phillips, Michael Rosen and Lionel Shriver.

The programme also features a Historical Readers Day and events commemorating the 200th anniversary of the pioneering Manchester writer, Elizabeth Gaskell. Also watch out for unique MLF commissions, showcasing some of the UK's hottest new talent, and inspiring the next generation of readers and writers with a tempting selection of family-friendly activities. Read more at the Lethal Comms blog or head over to the Manchester Literature Festival website.