‘Manchester has taken possession of me for good. I cannot leave. I do not want to leave, I must not.’
W G Sebald
Image courtesy of Susie Stubbs.
‘Out of the sea-fret drizzle a phantom ship appears like one of the spectres W G Sebald mentions in his fictive memoir, The Emigrants. Ocean-going craft confirm Manchester’s status as a port by sliding down the Ship Canal, towering over terraces with dreamlike intimations of other worlds. This landlocked building, Urbis, sleek and unexpected, has turned its back on the River Irwell, to face the town and its compact, self-contained centre.’ Iain Sinclair
To accompany the launch of Corridor8 in 2009, Iain Sinclair was commissioned by the magazine to conduct a walk through Manchester. Taking a route from Urbis (now the national Museum of Football) to the edge of the city, Sinclair’s walk has been adapted and edited into an audio walk read by theater maker Swen Steinhauser. Walking through the city listeners can contemplate Sinclair’s poetic, illuminating and (at times) wry text.
This audio walk, titled Listening for the Corncrake, can be downloaded here.
With this audio walk, listeners are able to retrace Sinclair’s footsteps, seeing Manchester through the eyes of this renowned psychogeographer. An accompanying map and introduction to the walk is also available for download. The walk itself, and Sinclair’s text, offers a sneak preview of a major new work based in the North that the author is currently planning.
Download Adult map “Listening to the Corncrake” here
Sinclair walk and map curated by Laura Mansfield for Corridor8.
Maps designed by Studio Dust.
Childrens’ activity map illustrated by Sally Renshaw.