03
Welcome
The Peterloo Anthology has been created as part of Radical Read.
Radical Read explores young peoples involvement in peaceful protest over the last 200 years. It is inspired by the Peterloo Massacre which happened in Manchester in 1819. The project was conceived by Read Manchester and led by Manchester Histories as part of the Peterloo 2019 programme. Radical Read has 15 themed Learning Resources available online. It is free to use for schools and community groups, and anyone who has an interest in how peaceful protest has made a difference to young people's lives.
One of the aims of Radical Read was to seek out new talent and encourage new writing by young people. A creative writing competition was hatched. It asked young people in Manchester to submit a poem or short story from the perspective of a young person present at Peterloo. The winner and runners up were selected by a panel of professional writers, teachers and people passionate about the history of Peterloo.
Olivia McFadden was the winner of the competition. Olivia received a cash prize and mentoring support to edit and work on her story. This was then published in the Radical Read Learning Resources and on the British Council's School Resources site. Olivia and the runners up went on to perform and read publicly at a number of Peterloo events. You can now read their poignant words and stories in this anthology. The work has also been beautifully illustrated by Thea Tite Ahern and Carolina Del Valle Ortega aspiring young artists from Loreto High School, Chorlton. They worked over a number of weeks with Rose Sergent, an artist from Contact Manchester, using various techniques and materials to produce the gorgeous illustrations you find in this book.
