! June 7th talk+reading by Beau Beausoleil at the library – details at the end of this blog!

We found ourselves a lovely B&B right in the middle of fields with horses grazing in the peace and quiet of the countryside on the Cheshire-Staffordshire border. After nearly two weeks of gorgeous spring weather with sun and blue sky wherever we went – be it Norwich or Chester – during this early May we watched a colourful sunset telling us the weather was about to change. We woke up to a cold morning with a rainy sky on May 9th.

We could have left the car in Crewe and taken the train into Manchester but tried to find a Park&Ride in some of the outskirts of the city. We left the car in Trafford (the P&R there did only exist in the memory of our SatNav but we found a place for the car some yards down the road) and took the tram from Cornbrook into Manchester Victoria Station where free shuttle busses take you to a stop just opposite John Rylands Library. It was still raining but the building was none the less impressive.

The exhibition of „An Inventory of Al-Mutanabbi Street“ spreads out on three floors with the major part in the Historic Reading Room, one display case on the ground floor café and a number of them in the little cloister.

Entering the Historic Reading room from the far end makes you face it almost in its entire length with the stained glass window in the back far above your head. The stone masonry in the cathedral-like room is breathtaking. All the show cases are being watched by the statues of the famous of the past. Homer, Skakespeare, Newton – representing the cultural heritage and pursuit of knowledge ever since we learned to speak and write, thus literally reminding of what this project is about: Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here.

Stepping into the room and walking along makes you realise that his is not a cathedral but a library. On either side there are a great number of recesses which either are furnished with a table and chairs or with large card index boxes. The walls of the recesses are covered from floor to ceiling with wooden shelves filled with books. Students have their laptops out on the tables working. The very specific quietness of a library in which work is being done sweeps gently through the room.

With respect to the copyright of the exhibiting colleagues you will not find any close ups of artist’s books on this blog. Of course you will have a much more intense experience of the books with being in the room and seeing them yourself. This blog is to say: It is more than worth while to go and see this exhibtion in this very special and extraordinary place.

For all who cannot come to Manchester: you can either try to find a venue nearer to where you live on one of the projects‘ websites or: there is an online catalogue of the books in the project at the galleries pages of the CFPR in Bristol: http://www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/mutanmain12.htm

And when you’ve seen it all and taken in and are about to leave, before you step out onto the roads in Manchester again in whatever weather awaits you: when still in the library’s shop and facing the door, turn right and look for the donation box with Mrs Rylands having tea with the dragon. Go there, put in a coin or two and watch – it’ll make your day, if the library and the exhibition have not done so already.

The exhibition will be on until July 29th.
The library is open
Mondays 12 noon – 5pm
Tuesdays – Saturdays 10am – 5pm
Sundays 12noon – 5pm
Last entry 4.30pm daily

This is where you want the free shuttle bus to take you to: Deansgate, Spinningfields, John Rylands Library, it is the green line No 2 that takes you there from Victoria station.

More information on the library’s website:
http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/rylands/exhibitions/

Safe the date: June 7th from 6-8pm
Beau Beausoleil, the founder of the al-Mutanabbi-Street coalition, will be at John Rylands Library speaking about the project and reading from the award winning al-Mutanabbi Street anthology. He’ll be joined by Sarah Irving, a blogger of the Middle East and North Africa.
If you are anywhere near: don’t miss it!

The projects‘ website with a list of all upcoming venues of An Inventory of Al-Mutanabbi Street:
http://www.al-mutanabbistreetstartshere-boston.com/exhibitions.html

A German/English website of the project:
http://www.al-mutanabbi-street.bleikloetzle.de/html/kontakt_links.html

The exhibition has moved to a further venue in Newcastle (UK) and opened August 5th. Find a blog with details here: http://theresaeaston.wordpress.com/2013/08/05/an-inventory-of-al-mutanabbi-street-2/