Postcolonial Manchester : diaspora space and the devolution of literary culture / Lynne Pearce, Corinne Fowler and Robert Crawshaw.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pearce, Lynne, author.

Fowler, Corinne, author.

Crawshaw, Robert H., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

English literature--England--Manchester--Minority authors.

English literature.

Minority authors--England--Manchester.

Minority authors.

Immigrants' writings, English--England--Manchester--History and criticism.

Immigrants' writings, English.

Manchester (England)--Literatures.

Manchester (England).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxiv, 326 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Manchester : Manchester University Press, 2013.

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Postcolonial Manchester offers a radical new perspective on Britain's devolved literary cultures by focusing on Manchester's vibrant, multicultural literary scene. This book presents the North West of England as quintessential 'diaspora space' and contributes to a better understanding of the region in social, cultural and aesthetic terms. It examines the way in which stories, poems and plays set in locales such as 'the Curry Mile' and Moss Side, have attempted to reshape Manchester's collective visions. The book features a broad demographic of authors and texts emanating from different diasporic communities and representing a wide range of religious affiliations. Manchester's black and Asian writers have struggled to achieve recognition within the literary mainstream, partly as a result of exclusion from London-centric, transnational publishing houses. Manchester's unfortunate reputation as one of Britain's 'crime capitals' is analysed by the use of fiction to stretch and complicate more popular explanations. A historical overview of Manchester's literary anthologies is presented through a transition from a writing that paid tribute to political resistance to more complex political statements, and focuses on the short story as a literary mode. The book combines close readings of some of the city's best-known performance poets such as Lemn Sissay and SuAndi with analysis of the literary cultures that have both facilitated and challenged their art. The book affords readers the opportunity to hear many of the chapter authors 'in their own words' by reflecting on how they themselves in terms of the literary mainstream and their identities.

Contents:

POSTCOLONIAL MANCHESTER: Diaspora space and the devolution of literary culture

Half Title Page

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Contents

List of figures

The authors

Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction: Manchester and the devolution of British literary culture: Corinne Fowler and Lynne Pearce

1. Manchester: the postcolonial city: Lynne Pearce

2. Publishing Manchester's black and Asian writers: Corinne Fowler

3. Manchester's crime fiction: the mystery of the city's smoking gun: Lynne Pearce

4. Collective resistance: Manchester's mixed-genre anthologies and short-story collections: Lynne Pearce

5. 'Rebels without applause': Manchester's poetry in performance (1960s to the present): Corinne Fowler

6. Giving voice: the writers' perspective: Robert Crawshaw

Afterword: Corinne Fowler and Lynne Pearce

Index

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 10 Jul 2026).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781526101877

1526101874

9781526101884

1526101882

OCLC:

931010837