About the project

For the original launch of the Made in Manchester project, Councillor Luthfur Rahman (Manchester City Council’s Executive Member for Skills, Culture and Leisure) explained the project as follows:

“Manchester is a city that’s proud of its diverse communities.  They bring a rich mix of cultures and languages and as Manchester grows, so does the number of languages spoken here.  Over 40% of the city’s primary school children speak another language alongside English in their homes.  The proportion of pupils with a multilingual background is thought to be more than 50%.

Our Made in Manchester poem celebrates that diversity, comprising entries from 64 different languages in its current form.

Local poet, Zahid Hussain created his original Made in Manchester poem in English.  Some of Zahid’s lines were used as inspiration for a community project run by Read Manchester.  This invited local residents and school children to write some lines in response in both English and a second/heritage language.  From the hundreds of entries received, 63 languages were selected, and a British Sign Language interpretation was included. These entries were interwoven into Zahid’s original poem to create a multilingual Made in Manchester.”

Originally displayed at Manchester Central Library, we are delighted to welcome the poem to its new home at Manchester Poetry Library at Manchester Metropolitan University. Made in Manchester is a living poem. The Poetry Library will continue to accept poems in any language that respond to the original lines and we will weave them into the existing mix. Our poem will continue to grow, and like Councillor Rahman, we too are extremely proud to present the unique Made in Manchester poem to you.

Made in Manchester contributors:

Zahid Hussain, Eleni Fotelli, Artur Bobikyan, Ena Jashanica, Awab Ameir Hussain, Enya Durant, Mira Rami, Ibraheem, Stoyan Petrov, Zulfa Said, Joe O’Reilly, Ariba Manaf, Pinjie Zhao, Hamza, Charlie Fleig, Helena Kwong, Omotolani Aderogbu, Diva Mendes, Cezar Nicolae, Lia, Ema, Ayana, Daud, Roma Berhe, Mojdah Mohammed, Shak Ahmed, Masiti Mohamed, Abdinaasir Jeylaani, Winnie Botchway, Nathan Kabwebwe, Robbie Mbumbhu, Mahi Diallo, Sakshi Jayara, Xin Zhang, Isobel Robinson, Jan Wos, Tamara Kaplanidis, Asbadh Ali, Nicole Ochieng, Ummama Bashir, Rhiana Narcisco, Rojin Meryem Balakan, Janet Donkor, Bright Donkor, Andile Audrey Nkomo, Michael Ahmed, Arwa Hussain, Adebola Komolafe, Nissim, Woosung Kim, Livae, Li Li Tan, Ayesha Hussain, Nousheen Anjum, Amel Darvazekh, Maria Thuy Mi Tran, Bilkees, Nada Kulan, Daishanay Kelly, Meryam Robeei, Sufeyah Talukdar, Mahima Chowdhury, Diana Anil, Delgermaa Sukhbaatar, Mahira Bhuiyan, Ulla Kuivalainen.

You can watch some of the poets who contributed to the poem read their work in this short film.

Made possible by

Manchester City Council
Read Manchester
Multilingual Manchester & University of Manchester
Manchester Metropolitan University
Arts Council
Manchester City of Literature