Actors Christopher Ecclestone and Maxine Peake performed poetry at a sold-out event at Eccles Town Hall on Sunday to help raise money for the Working-Class Movement Library.
Over £3000 has been raised in the library’s annual fundraising event ‘Radical Rhymes’ to put towards the refurbishment of their annexe with hopes of making it a better space for education and community engagement.
Belinda Scarlett is the library’s manager and arranged their first poetry reading since before the pandemic, with 260 poetry fans filling the hall.
She said: “It’s a big responsibility because people know this event quite well, so people come back every year when it’s on.
“Our core aim is to raise working class consciousness and to get as many people as possible to experience our collection, which is all about working class campaigning and activisim.”
‘Doctor Who’ star Eccleston and Maxine Peake, were joined on stage with singer Jennifer Reid, actor James Quinn, and poet Oliver Lomax to perform a medley of over 30 poems and original songs.
The Ceremonial Mayor for Salford Ann-Marie Humphreys was at the event and praised the ‘brilliant speakers’.
Mayor Humphreys said: “I’ve always been a big supporter of the Working-Class Library, we’re very lucky to have that in Salford.
“I hope it that they keep on raising funds to keep on going and to expand”, she added.
Labour MP for Worsley and Eccles South, Barbara Keeley was also in attendance and said: “Its really good to listen to a wider range of poetry on radical themes.
“Many of these poems and readings go back very long periods of time to the industrial time, there’s a lot of parallels between those earlier times and now.”
Good to attend “Radical Rhymes”at Eccles Town Hall to hear Christopher Eccleston @MPeakeOfficial @OliverLomaxPoet James Quinn & Jennifer Read perform poetry & songs in aid of the Working Class Movement Library – photo with @JohnMullen1960 & Ceremonial Mayor Ann-Marie Humphreys pic.twitter.com/sbq7jToTOQ
— Barbara Keeley 💙 😷🇺🇦 (@KeeleyMP) December 4, 2022
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