Fierce Imaginings: The Great War, Ritual, Memory and God
Rachel Mann
Shortlisted 2019
Published on 23 Feb 2017
From Rachel Mann, Canon Poet-in-Residence at Manchester Cathedral, comes a lyrical and very personal story of remembrance, faith, family and identity shaped by the chaos and trauma wrought by the Great War and the flux in early twentieth century Europe. Rachel brilliantly explores the significance of the War to all of us today who live under its long shadow.
Our shared memories, culture and the symbols and relics linger on all around us: she also explores the influence of the Great War on her grandparents and how it echoed through her childhood in 1970s Britain discovering her authentic self in God, undergoing a change of sex and experiencing chronic illness and disability.