Mail Art

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When everything went online in March 2020 we wanted to do something physical too. During a recent workshop with Manchester Metropolitan University Poetry Library, Squad Director Steve Dearden and grad Lydia Hounat had been really taken with an exhibition of mail art in the the Special Collections Library.

Three envelopes set out on a slow progress round Squad writers, each started off with a photo or photozine by Steve, some stamps and a set of instructions which basically say, respond or make something entirely different, photograph it, send the photos back to Squad HQ and the envelop to the next person on the list.

One has been called back in completed, or at least become a little fragile, having gone from Steve to Lydia, whose cut out text went on to Jenny O’Sullivan who incorporated them into a booklet, then Jasmine Simms who added palimpsest text and flowers and then to Core Team member Emma Adams who added a beautifully drawn text/picture chapbook about otters seen (or maybe not seen) on a lockdown walk.

In time we hope to properly document and share all the envelopes.