1 May

May Day History events in Manchester, 1-2 May

Saturday 1 May 2pm, Frow Memorial Lecture

In memory of the Working Class Movement Library's founders Edmund and Ruth Frow the Inaugural Frow Memorial Lecture will take place on Saturday 1 May at 2pm: 'Till the Struggle is O'er: The Poetry of Chartism' by Dr Mike Sanders, with Chartist poems read by Maxine Peake and a selection of Chartist songs sung by Corista. Thanks to the Unversity of Salford the lecture will take place at the Conference Room, Old Fire Station, Crescent, Salford, a couple of hundred yards from the Library. Between 1837 and 1852, the leading Chartist newspaper The Northern Star published over 1,000 poems by more than 350 poets, most of whom were ordinary working class people. The sheer volume of verse produced by individual Chartists demonstrates the importance of poetry to the movement. Published in newspapers, recited at meetings and even sung in prison, poetry was everywhere in the Chartist movement. Our speaker will talk about the importance of Chartist poetry as an outlet for working class creativity, and as a vital part of Chartism's struggle for fundamental democratic rights.
Dr Mike Sanders is Senior Lecturer in Victorian Literature at the University of Manchester, and the author of The Poetry of Chartism: Politics, Aesthetics, History (Cambridge University Press, 2009).

The event is free; everyone is welcome; light refreshments will be available after the lecture. More information; [mailto]enquiries@wcml.org.uk[/mailto]

Sunday 2 May 10.45am, £6.00/£3.00

A History Walk through Riotous and Rebellious Manchester.

Meet at the Robert Owen statue, Cooperative Bank, Balloon Street

This walk will explore Manchester's radical history including the Cooperative movement, The Clarion newspaper, Marx and Engels, Peterloo, Chartism, The General strike and rioting in Albert Square. We will also find out what happened the day Manchester was captured by a Scottish army.

The walk will be led by Michael Herbert. Michael has been researching, writing and talking about Manchester's history for many years. He has an MA in the History of Manchester and is a former editor of the North West Labour History Journal and currently a Trustee of the Working Class Movement Library. His first book Never Counted Out! The Story of Len Johnson, boxer and Communist was published in 1992. His second book The Wearing of the Green: a political history of the Irish in Manchester was published in 2001. He is a regular contributor to the Manchester's Radical History website [url]http://radicalmanchester.wordpress.com/[/url]

More information about the walk: [mailto]mossley@phonecoop.coop[/mailto]