The Poetry of Suicide: J.T. Welsch in conversation with Nikolai Duffy

Thu May 21 2026 at 06:30 pm to 07:30 pm UTC+01:00

Manchester Poetry Library at Manchester Metropolitan University | Manchester

Manchester Poetry Library
Publisher/HostManchester Poetry Library
The Poetry of  Suicide: J.T. Welsch  in conversation with  Nikolai Duffy
Advertisement
Poet J.T. Welsch explores s stories of poets who took their own lives with the long history of suicide in his own family.
About this Event

In The poetry of suicide, J. T. Welsch interweaves stories of poets who took their own lives with the long history of suicide in his own family, searching for a new way of understanding these difficult deaths. Beginning with Hamlet’s ‘To be or not to be?’, he delves into the work of Dante, Sylvia Plath, Vladimir Mayakovsky and others, asking what it can teach us about suicide’s messy reality.

Beginning with Hamlet’s ‘To be or not to be?’, he delves into the work of Dante, Sylvia Plath, Vladimir Mayakovsky and others, asking what it can teach us about suicide’s messy reality.

J. T. Welsch is a writer and academic born in the US and based in the UK, where he teaches at the University of York. He is the author of several books of and about poetry, including Orchids (2010), The Hell Creek Anthology (2015) and The Selling and Self-Regulation of Contemporary Poetry (2020). He also edited the anthology of migrant poetry Wretched Strangers (2018) with Ágnes Lehóczky. His writing has appeared in Poetry Review, Boston Review and the Guardian.

Recovering the personal dimension often lost in our medicalised public discourse, Welsch finds practical ways of confronting suicide’s poem-like difficulties.

J. T. Welsch is a writer and academic born in the US and based in the UK, where he teaches at the University of York. He is the author of several books of and about poetry, including Orchids (2010), The Hell Creek Anthology (2015) and The Selling and Self-Regulation of Contemporary Poetry (2020). He also edited the anthology of migrant poetry Wretched Strangers (2018) with Ágnes Lehóczky. His writing has appeared in Poetry Review, Boston Review and the Guardian.

Advertisement

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Manchester Poetry Library at Manchester Metropolitan University, Grosvenor East Building, Manchester, United Kingdom

Tickets

USD 0.00

Icon
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.

Ask AI if this event suits you:

More Events in Manchester

Sea Life Manchester Anytime Entry
Thu, 21 May at 12:00 am Sea Life Manchester Anytime Entry

Legoland Discovery Centre

HiveMCR '26
Thu, 21 May at 09:00 am HiveMCR '26

New Century Hall

Understanding and Working with the Education System (Central Manchester)
Thu, 21 May at 10:00 am Understanding and Working with the Education System (Central Manchester)

North Star Centre @ City View House

Post-GCSE education and training in-person information session
Thu, 21 May at 06:00 pm Post-GCSE education and training in-person information session

Swinton Gateway, 100 Chorley Road, Swinton M27 6BP

Wildlife Gardening Club \u201cWildflower ID Walk with Leif Bersweden\u201d
Thu, 21 May at 06:00 pm Wildlife Gardening Club “Wildflower ID Walk with Leif Bersweden”

Altogether Otherwise

Super Furry Animals Manchester Tickets
Thu, 21 May at 07:00 pm Super Furry Animals Manchester Tickets

O2 Apollo Manchester

Fcukers
Thu, 21 May at 07:00 pm Fcukers

Manchester New Century Hall

Super Furry Animals
Thu, 21 May at 07:00 pm Super Furry Animals

O2 Apollo Manchester

Olivia Cuttill & Friends play the Legends of Jazz
Thu, 21 May at 07:30 pm Olivia Cuttill & Friends play the Legends of Jazz

Forsyth Music Shop

Jonathan Van Ness: Hot & Healed
Thu, 21 May at 08:00 pm Jonathan Van Ness: Hot & Healed

Albert Hall

Yellowjackets
Thu, 21 May at 08:00 pm Yellowjackets

Band on the Wall

Manchester is Happening!

Never miss your favorite happenings again!

Explore Manchester Events