Mark Pajak - SLIDE book-launch

Blackwell's Bookshop has been serving the needs of academics, students, and book lovers since 1879.

Blackwell's Manchester

Join us for the launch of SLIDE - the debut poetry collection from Mark Pajak.

Blackwell's Bookshop

Following in the tradition of Manchester Metropolitan University’s immensely successful institution Carol Ann Duffy and Friends, former House Poet – Mark Pajak - returns to launch his debut collection SLIDE with a night of poetry readings showcasing new talent from The Manchester Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University&#x27;s MA in Creative Writing. Join us here at Blackwell&#x27;s Bookshop on Oxford Road for an evening of poetry, conversation and celebration of new work. About the book:&quot;Fresh, urgent, alive... genius.&quot; - Patience AgbabiThis assured and arresting first collection moves deftly and with purpose into private, hidden places - a locked shed, the dark of a battery farm, a murky riverbed, a late-night bar - to show, unflinchingly and in cinematic detail, what we might otherwise choose not to see. Sight is both a gift and curse, of course: given or taken away in poems of windows and curtains, torches and blindfolds, and yet here - following in the tradition of Oswald and Heaney - each image is freshly minted through a cool, objective eye.Every poem seeks to inhabit those seemingly small but pivotal moments which have monumental, sometimes mortal, consequences. For Pajak, time is fluid: a blink can be &#x27;slow as an eclipse&#x27;, our lifetimes are fleeting, our deaths often lingering and seldom peaceful or painless.Vivid and visceral, steadily examining violence, sexual encounters, childhood and ageing (a dying grandmother&#x27;s &#x27;slow pink eyelids, those quick teaspoon breaths&#x27;), cars and cities, and Nature - full of wonder and threat - Slide is always asking pertinent questions: illuminating brutality, frailty and tenderness, the responsibility of those who witness - whether voyeur, bystander or reader. This is a charged, beautifully observed and thrilling debut.“Mark Pajak&#x27;s debut does not read like a debut: there is no fumbling beginner&#x27;s luck, no rough moments or threadbare patches - it&#x27;s polished craftsmanship throughout is striking... [Slide] deserves to be a blazing success.” - Observer, *Poetry Book of the Month*“In this chilling and tense collection, Mark Pajak takes us with him into the nettles, out on the dark country lane, to the dilapidated shed - holding us with his acute precision of imagery - so we become all too aware of that &#x27;long squeal&#x27; of violence under the poem&#x27;s &#x27;fluttery lid&#x27;. A visceral and vital debut.” - Andrew McMillanAbout the author:Mark Pajak was born in Merseyside in 1987. His work has received a Northern Writers&#x27; Award, a Society of Authors&#x27; Grant, an Eric Gregory Award and a UNESCO international writing residency. He is a past recipient of the Bridport Prize and has been three times included in the National Poetry Competition winners list.This event is being held in collaboration with The Manchester Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University and Jonathan Cape Publishing.Doors: 6.30, starts: 6.45Tickets for this event are free but do please register your interest in advance. If you would like a signed copy but cannot make the event, please contact us on 0161 274 3331 or manchester@blackwell.co.uk and we can arrange this for you.

Our {communityGuidelinesLink} describe the sort of content we prohibit on Eventbrite. If you suspect an event may be in violation, you can report it to us so we can investigate.

To report other categories of prohibited or illegal content, submit {link}

Mark Pajak - SLIDE book-launch

More events from Blackwell's Manchester

Follow organizers to get events picked for you

Still looking for the right event?

Explore all events in Manchester and filter by date, category, and more to find the perfect fit.

Mark Pajak - SLIDE book-launch

More events from Blackwell's Manchester

Follow organizers to get events picked for you

You might also like...

Sign-In for personalized recommendations

Still looking for the right event?

Explore all events in Manchester and filter by date, category, and more to find the perfect fit.