The Citizen Poetry workshop series in early 2024 revisited the fierce, unfiltered voice of Citizen 32, a Manchester-based magazine that helped shape the city’s countercultural scene in the early 2000s. These creative writing sessions explored back issues of the magazine and the themes it fearlessly championed. From war and censorship to class struggle and race, the workshops served not only as a reflection on the past but also as a reawakening of its radical spirit through new creative expression.

The workshops were facilitated by Citizen 32 founding editor John G Hall, offering participants the rare opportunity to learn directly from someone who had helped craft the magazine’s bold editorial voice. Heena, who coordinated the Hard Pressed project, joined the first session to help frame the magazine’s cultural legacy. Held at Wythenshawe Forum on 19th February, 4th March, 18th March, and 15th April 2024, the sessions ran from 2–4pm welcoming writers of all backgrounds. They fostered a space for creativity, dialogue, and critical thinking.

Each session focused on a different theme that Citizen 32 tackled head-on: sexuality, censorship, race, class, and cultural activism. Participants engaged with archive material to inspire new poetry and prose, reflecting on both historical and contemporary experiences of marginalisation. A visual collage created using past issues of the magazine was displayed throughout the series, connecting the literary and visual legacies of Citizen 32 and deepening the creative atmosphere of the workshops.

The series culminated in the Citizen 32 Poetry Showcase in of May 2024.

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