Today marks World Poetry Day and is being celebrated all across the globe, so what better day to celebrate three of Manchester’s most famous poets!
TONY WALSH
First on the list is Tony Walsh. Tony, who is also known by his stage name Longfella, is one of the UK’s most respected performance poets and has performed at many venues including Glastonbury and more famously at the Manchester arena attack vigil where he performed “This is the Place”.
Walsh, who studied at Salford university, shared the poem in front of hundreds of Mancunians shortly after the attack in 2017 at a vigil in Manchester.
ARGH KID
Second on our list has to be ARGH KiD, who has been dubbed the “Acapella Eminem”.
ARGH KiD is the official poet for the NSPCC, UEFA and Manchester United with his work being broadcast to homes across the globe when his poem 99 memories being used in the build-up to the Europa League final.
ARGH KiD, who is born and bred Manchester, often has a message to deliver in his poems surrounding the working class with topics surrounding austerity and community.
MIKE GARRY
And last but not least Mike Garry, who was a librarian for 15 years before bringing his poetry to life in unlikely venues like prisons, young offenders units, mental health hospitals, Children’s Homes, and local pubs.
He first started out by reading his own poems to the hundreds of young people who attended his Library Homework Centre.
He has also written three books, Men’s Morning, Mancunian Meander and God is a Manc. Mike still does regular talks to students on the library and communications course, the creative writing course and with trainee teachers as well as working with 10,000 young people in schools throughout the UK.
