Now in its eleventh year, the Cork International Poetry Festival was held mostly at the Firkin Crane, the old seat of Tudor power in Ireland, where over thirty scribe-performers including Cai Tianxin, Maggie O’Sullivan, Keith Tuma, Anamaría Crowe Serrano, Gerry Loose and Mairead Byrne carried their audiences into universes of widely unexplored adventures.

Thanks to the dedication of Trevor Joyce and Fergal Gaynor, this phenomenon is one of the country’s best expositions, crafted from a fine eclectic balance of the world’s best avant-garde poets. Though well-attended, gross underfunding caused a lack of advertising for a major event which should have drawn massive crowds. I hope the funding bodies pay more attention to this project in the future – it’s a true benchmark of the highest quality in art and in my opinion should be regarded as one of the top poetry festivals in the world.

To see the full line-up and history of the event visit the SoundEye website here. Free admission to five days of ambrosia from some of the best ‘alternative’ poets in the world should just simply not be missed.

See you there next year.

pc