Everyone likes to wax lyrical about their heritage.
And, now, one record-breaking poem does exactly that - in more than 60 languages - as it celebrates all that’s good about Manchester and the many ethnic groups it embraces.
Made in Manchester is written by poet Zahid Hussain and includes contributions from youngsters across the city who have added lines in their own heritage language.
The poem is considered a living piece of art, as it won’t just stop at 64 translations, aiming to capture all 200 of the languages spoken in the city.
The idea for the poem originated from a conversation between Zahid Hussain and Councillor Luthfur Rahman, executive member for skills, culture and leisure at Manchester City Council.
They wanted to find a way of showing just how diverse - and yet how united - the city and its different communities are.
After collaborating with partners at Manchester Libraries, Manchester Metropolitan University, Multilingual Manchester, University of Manchester, Manchester City of Literature, Read Manchester, the council’s own translations department, and with support from Arts Council England, the ‘Made in Manchester’ poem was born.
The poem - believed to have set a record for the number of languages it includes - is now on display in Manchester’s Central library.
There are two versions of the poem - the multilingual original and the translated English version, which are displayed on two screens next to each other.
There is also a sculpture as part of the display featuring pictures drawn by the school children involved by the project.
Councillor Luthfur Rahman, said: “This city inspires me so much in the way that it recognises and celebrates cultural diversity.
"It’s fitting that Manchester, as a Unesco City of Literature, now has its own poem right from the hearts of the 91 different ethnic groups who live here in a way that’s never been done before.”
The poem will be on display at Central Library for a year before it will move to Manchester Metropolitan University’s brand new Poetry Library due to open in 2020.
