Lignum Vitae

Written and performed by Hette Phillips

Set in Chapel Street Park

A park watches the people who pass through: the ones who gather, the ones who grieve, the ones who disappear. With a voice that is slow, patient and rooted, Lignum Vitae unfolds as a quiet observation of life from the perspective of a place that is always changing but always the same.

Set in Chapel Street Park, this is a story about memory, connection, and how the land itself carries the lives that move across it.

Hette Phillips is a poet, fiction writer and artist based in Levenshulme. Her work has been published by Dostoyevsky Wannabe and For Books Sake.

You Are Here is a podcast from Levenshulme Old Library featuring five original short stories inspired by Levenshulme’s parks and green spaces.

Levenshulme Old Library is a community-led arts and culture space in South Manchester. Based in a former Carnegie library, it supports local creativity through workshops, performances and place-based storytelling projects that reflect the neighbourhood’s unique character and voices.

The podcast is produced by Levenshulme Old Library, commissioned by The Space, and supported by Arts Council England.

Series editor: Richard V. Hirst

Production and sound design: Oscillate.

Explore the full project at: levenshulmeoldlibrary.org.uk/you-are-here