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Opening at Manchester Poetry Library on 21 September 2026, Habitué is a new exhibition curated by poet, playwright, and theatre-maker Faye Draper, in collaboration with The Poetry Library, supported by The Portico Library and funded by Arts Council England.
Through biographic material, poetry and archival works, the exhibition explores women’s experiences of addiction alongside their literary legacies, asking how figures including Mary Robinson, Sara Coleridge, Elizabeth Siddal, and Anne Sexton have been represented and remembered. Their voices are placed in dialogue with contemporary women and gender queer poets including HLR, JP Seabright and Joelle Taylor, revealing how experiences of addiction, recovery, gender, and class continue to shape women’s writing and its place within an expanding literary canon.
Visitors to the exhibition are invited to interact with Draper’s poetry exploring her experiences of active addiction and recovery. This intimate encounter brings the private realities of addiction into a shared public space.
There will also be two accompanying Salons to the exhibition, chaired by Faye Draper, which will explore addiction within the literary canon and consider how women’s lives, work and experiences have been represented and remembered. Participants will be announced. These Salons are free but booking is required. They can be booked below:
About Faye Draper
Faye Draper is a working-class theatre-maker, poet, playwright and curator whose work explores the boundaries between classical and contemporary literature and theatre. Her practice frequently engages with feminism, trauma and class. Her work has been presented nationally at venues including HOME, Pleasance Edinburgh and Shakespeare North Playhouse. In Habitué,
Draper draws specifically on her lived experience of addiction and recovery, placing her poetry in dialogue with the lives and writing of historical and contemporary women.
About Manchester Poetry Library
Based in the heart of Manchester, a UNESCO City of Literature, Manchester Poetry Library houses an extensive collection of contemporary poetry and is a resource for research centre, advocating for poetry to be accessible to all. The community lies at the heart of the library, whether it is local, regional, national or international, the library aims to invite the widest range of people to create a place where language is celebrated in all its diversity.
Manchester poetry library is supported by and working within Manchester university, contributing to the institution’s esteemed reputation for poetry and creative writing through the Manchester Writing School.
The Portico Library
At 220 years old, The Portico library is one of Manchester’s longest-running institutions. It is a subscription library and newsroom whose historic collection of over 25,000 books and archives spans over 450 years.
Alongside members’ services, everyone is welcome to enjoy a rich programme of art and literature, to take part in free exhibitions, events and workshops, and to be immersed in the history of Manchester.
