University celebrates National Poetry Day with powerful reading by Professor Andrew McMillan
Manchester Met is celebrating National Poetry Day (October 2) with an exclusive reading by award-winning poet and professor Andrew McMillan of his poem Today, exploring the perpetual motion of cities.
Filmed in the University’s Manchester Poetry Library, the reading sees Prof McMillan exploring the hustle and bustle of city life through a poem he wrote for his award-winning debut collection physical.
A nod to National Poetry Day’s 2025 theme of ‘PLAY’, Today addresses the motion of cityscapes, from the ‘ice cream sellers huddled around the docks’ to the streets that are ‘more people than pavement’.
The reading is part of the UK’s largest annual celebration of poetry which this year celebrates poetry’s power to spark joy, connectivity and human connection through the spirit of play.
Organised by Forward Arts Foundation, National Poetry Day is held annually and encourages everyone to make, experience and share poetry with family and friends.
Speaking about the celebration and his poem Today, Prof McMillan said: “This is a poem I wrote when I was in my early twenties, and it was published in my debut collection physical, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
“I was thinking of a cityscape, of how much it moves and bustles and how much it’s constantly in motion. Poetry is always language at play, language played with, language pushed out of the door and onto the soggy playground of the page – language allowed to run.”
Manchester Met’s Manchester Poetry Library is playing its part in National Poetry Day celebrations by launching its new autumn/winter 2024/25 programme of free public events. Titled Night Vision, the upcoming series includes a book launch of the same name by poet and lecturer Jean Sprackland, a workshop on K-Pop and poetry, and Q&As and readings on seasonal themes of darkness from writers including author and lecturer Andrew Hurley.
Prof McMillan is a leading voice at Manchester Poetry Library, as well as being a multi-award-winning poet and Professor of Contemporary Writing at Manchester Met’s Manchester Writing School. His debut collection physical (2015), which includes the poem Today, was the first poetry collection to win the Guardian Book Award and went on to scoop numerous other prizes.
His reading this year follows in the tradition of other acclaimed Manchester Met poets who have taken part in National Poetry Day celebrations. Last year fellow Manchester Writing School poet Professor Helen Mort read her poem In the Field, tackling themes of climate change, while in 2023 their colleague Dr Kim Moore’s specially commissioned Motherhood as Refuge explored concepts of hiding in nature, and parental love.
Dr Martin Kratz, Programme Manager at Manchester Poetry Library, added: “We are delighted to share in the National Poetry Day celebrations and highlight, not just the incredible work of Andrew and our other poets, but that poetry is to be enjoyed by everyone.
“We would love to see as many people as possible at our free poetry events this season – even just popping in for a browse of our extensive poetry collection. National Poetry Day is a wonderful chance to celebrate the power of poetry and how it can enhance our lives for the better.”
Find out more about Manchester Poetry Library’s new autumn/winter 2024/25 programme here.
