Festival of Libraries

In Spring 2021, Alicia Sometimes was appointed the first Virtual Writer in Residence at The Portico by Manchester Literature Festival and Manchester City of Literature for the inaugural Festival of Libraries. As part of her residency, she was commissioned to create a new series of poems inspired by the project, her research into the Portico’s extraordinary collections and her conversations with the librarians.

Alicia read and discussed The Portico Poems in Melbourne to Manchester, a special MLF DIGITAL event recorded with local writer and host Kate Feld in Autumn 2021. You can watch both the event and a recording of The Portico Poems below and on the MLF Vimeo channel. You can also download a free PDF of Alicia's commissioned poems above.

Alicia Sometimes is an Australian poet, writer and broadcaster based in Melbourne City of Literature. Her poetry collections include Soundtrack and Kissing the Curve. She is Director and Co-writer of the art/science planetarium shows, Elemental and Particle/Wave. Her TedxUQ talk in 2019 was about the passion of combining art with science. She is currently a Science Gallery Melbourne ‘Leonardo’ and is a 2021 City of Melbourne Boyd Garnett recipient.

In Spring 2021, Anna Polonyi was appointed the first Virtual Writer in Residence at Central Library by Manchester Literature Festival and Manchester City of Literature for the inaugural Festival of Libraries. As part of her residency, she was commissioned to create a short story inspired by her research, readings and conversations with colleagues in Manchester.

Anna visited Manchester in August 2021 for the first time. During her visit, Modify Productions filmed her exploring Central Library and reading Angel’s Story in the Chief Librarian's Office. Anna discussed her story, writing, reading, fairy tales and the importance of LGBTQ+ voices in Iowa to Manchester, a special MLF DIGITAL event recorded with local writer and host Kate Feld in Autumn 2021. You can watch the conversation and a recording of Angel's Story below and on the MLF Vimeo channel. You can also download a free PDF of Anna's story above.

Anna Polonyi is a French-American-Hungarian writer and journalist. She is the author of the poetry chapbook Wayword, written on the Camino de Santiago. She holds an M.F.A in fiction from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and teaches creative writing at the Iowa Young Writers’ Studio. She’s currently working on both a novel and a memoir on growing up as a ‘Third Culture Kid’.