Maggie began by thanking the organisers for inviting her and saying that it was the first time she had read in Manchester. How can that possibly be true? Maggie is one of the very best and most innovative poets working in the North of England, and she only lives a short train ride from the city. It is an outrage, and thank goodness it has been corrected.
The reading was a great pleasure. I particularly enjoyed the extracts from A Natural History In 3 Incomplete Parts and from red shifts. It would be just perfect if she could somehow read with the texts projected behind her, as they are as visual as they are aural. I loved listening to her voice working through the changes, patterns and repetitions of the work.
It was like being underwater, underlanguage, listening to the stream rush past. Lots of fragments, debris, other organisms, all of them half glimpsed. Immersed in transformation and movement. I would recommend anyone who gets the chance to go and hear her read.
Stuart Calton was a good contrast. I found myself chuckling as he read. His work is political, sassy and satirical. What a good night it was!
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