The latest in Manchester’s much-loved series of music and poetry sessions of Poets & Players took place in the glorious historic reading room at the John Rylands Library, beneath false-moustachioed statues (it’s Movember folks) and before a packed audience of poets and poetry lovers.

The musical element had an eastern flavour, thanks to P&P co-founder Chris Davies’ tabla and bells which melded beautifully with violinist Olivia Moore. This was like no violin you’ve heard before, almost a sitar, a taste of Nigel Kennedy on a jazz excursion, but calmer, less manic, although exciting. There were hints of Irish/Scottish lilts with a hypnotic undertone throughout.

The music provided a nice contrast to the first readings by the elegant and controlled Sheila Wild. She came second in this year’s Manchester Cathedral poetry competition (with ‘Pieta’) having already won in 2012. What I like about Wild is her ability to combine economy with profundity, observation and depth. She uses just the right words, coins the perfect phrase and all without over-writing, taking in topics including ageing, death, birds, baling hay, pilgrimage and architecture. She is an exquisite poet.

 

     Pieta

     A boy sneaks out of his house

     to go fishing. He’s so young,

     he doesn’t know

     he’s kidding himself,

 

     but his mother does. She hears

     the stairs creak and looks down

     from an upper room to see her son

     following the men to prayer.

 

     Should she worry? Not about

     the prayer, but the questioning –

     the hand so quickly raised,

     the slight frown on the boy’s face.

 

     She wants to call him back.

     She wants to hold him in her lap,

     to hug his thin shoulders

     and boyish knees.

 

     The fish he will catch, the bread

     in his pocket. How much,

     she wonders, does

 

     he already know? 

 

The contrast with Manchester teacher/poet Michael Conley could not be greater. His darkness is leavened with humour and off-the-wall subject matter. One moment he is reading about a man with an unusual fish tank in ‘Aquarium’, next he is talking tenderly of his dead grandmother in ‘Gemella’. ‘Auction’ and ‘Steve’ are playful, while I was most impressed by ‘Various items ...’ about the aftermath of a dictator’s overthrow. Stunning.

The life of Imtiaz Dharker, pictured, stretches from Scotland and Wales to London and Bombay and her poetry is richly seamed,  with multiple influences and tones. Her opening piece ‘Speech balloon’ struck a chord with its cruel but funny observations on the phrase "over the moon". ‘In Wales, wanting to be Italian’ rang true for most of the audience, I suspect, while ‘Waiting for Crossrail’ conjured up expertly the collision between the past and present when huge earth-boring machines uncover human remains from the time of the Black Death. And ‘Night Shift’ should be compulsory in schools, with its story of a girl called Marvellous.

Another terrific event from Poets & Players. Roll on the next one on 21 February, 2015.

Judy Gordon