'Guernica Children' by Nóra Blascsók - Manchester City of Literature

‘Guernica Children’ by Nóra Blascsók

16 March 2026 - Poetry

In Spring 2025, Manchester Literature Festival and Manchester City of Literature co-commissioned Nóra Blascsók to create new work as part of their role as Manchester Multilingual City Poet.

Nóra was invited to write a new poem responding to the themes of ’sanctuary’ and ’welcome.’ Her powerful and playful response is ‘Guernica Children’.

In Nóra’s own words:

“This poem was inspired by the events of 1937 when the UK took in 4000 Basque children after the bombardment of Guernica. It hopes to draw parallels between that event and current events using the contrapuntal form (a poem that can be read in multiple ways). The poem uses almost entirely found language.”

Nóra performed ‘Guernica Children’ for the first time at an intimate event at Manchester Poetry Library on 22 October 2025.

The event was part of the 20th edition of Manchester Literature Festival and featured Nóra and her fellow Manchester Multilingual City Poet Charlotte Shevchenko Knight reading their work in English, Hungarian and Ukrainian. Hosted by former Manchester Multilingual City Poet Anjum Malik, the event reflected the city’s vibrant multilingual energy and celebrated the role of poetry, creativity and communities to unite and welcome people.

Nóra Blascsók is a Hungarian poet based in Manchester. Her work includes the pamphlet <body> of work </body> and she is part of the New Northern Poets 2025 cohort.

The Manchester Multilingual City Poets are talented creatives who have been appointed to produce a series of original work on behalf of the City. The poets act as ambassadors for Manchester residents, communities and literature organisations, and carry a civic responsibility, much like conventional Poet Laureate designations. Each poet translates the other’s work, creating a unique cross-cultural conversation.

You can read ‘Guernica Children’ below in English, Ukrainian and Hungarian below. (Ukrainian translation by Charlotte Shevchenko Knight.)