Manuscript Feedback
Two half-hour appointments available each day
11am & 11.30am, 14th – 17th May
Munster Literature Centre, 84 Douglas Street | Cost €60
Limited to 8 individual appointments
Available timeslots:
11am Wednesday
11.30am Wednesday
11am Thursday
11.30am Thursday
11am Friday
11.30am Friday
11am Saturday11.30am Saturday
Are there poems in your latest manuscript that are proving bothersome? Perhaps you feel an ending isn’t quite working? Or the beginning isn’t leading the reader in? Does the title add or subtract? Could the rhythm be a bit clunky? Is the theme being diminished by clichés or too much imagery or mixed metaphors?
If you feel a fresh pair of eyes might help you untangle the knots of a poem and bring clarity to your thinking, then this workshop might be for you. James will scrutinise your work and present his findings to you face to face in a highly focused half-hour session. Rhythm and meter, line endings, how to start or finish a poem, whether
to add a killer adjective or subtract a lame one – James will give you sympathetic, insightful and honest feedback. Whether you’re a veteran of the verse world or just setting out on your poetic journey, this is a chance to discuss your poems with an experienced practitioner of the poetic craft.
The cost per session is €60 for a maximum of 10 poems on a maximum of 10 pages (double-spaced 11pt) which includes time spent on them beforehand. Advance booking is essential – only eight half-hour sessions are available, Wednesday to Saturday. Manuscripts must be sent to James at least two weeks in advance of the festival.
James Harpur has had nine poetry collections published, including his latest, The Gospel of Gargoyle, Eblana Press (www.eblanapress.com). He has won a number of prizes and awards, including the 1995 UK National Poetry Competition, the Michael Hartnett Prize, and the Vincent Buckley Prize. He is a member of Aosdána and lives in West Cork.
Workshops
The cost is €250 for all four masterclasses or €75 individually. Priority will be given to those who have at least two poem publication credits. Each participant will have the opportunity to have one of their poems for each masterclass (of up to thirty lines) discussed in a very small class where each person’s work will receive much individual attention. They will submit their poem(s) in advance.
Pat Boran Masterclass (3 spaces remaining)9.30am to 12.30pm, Wednesday 14th May
Munster Literature Centre, 84 Douglas Street | Cost €75 (or €250 for all four masterclasses)
Limited to 8 participants
Pat Boran has published more than a dozen books of poetry and prose, among them Hedge School (2024), Then Again (2019) and A Man Is Only As Good: A Pocket Selected Poems (2017). Non-fiction includes the humorous memoir The Invisible Prison: Scenes from an Irish Childhood (2009) and the popular writers’ handbook, The Portable Creative Writing Workshop (various editions). He has edited a dozen anthologies, presented poetry and arts programmes on radio, and his short poetry films have been screened at festivals in many countries. He is a member of Aosdána, the Irish affiliation of creative artists.
John McAuliffe (3 spaces remaining)9.30am to 12.30pm, Thursday 15th May
Munster Literature Centre, 84 Douglas Street | Cost €75 (or €250 for all four masterclasses)
Limited to 8 participants
John McAuliffe has published seven books with The Gallery Press, most recently National Theatre (2024) and Selected Poems (2021), which was an Observer Book of the Year. He is Professor of Poetry at the University of Manchester. Previously poetry critic at The Irish Times, he is now Associate Publisher and editor at Carcanet and the journal PN Review.
Pádraig Ó Tuama Masterclass (4 spaces remaining)9.30am to 12.30pm, Friday 16th May
Munster Literature Centre, 84 Douglas Street | Cost €75 (or €250 for all four masterclasses)
Limited to 8 participants
Pádraig Ó Tuama is an internationally recognised poet, podcaster, and the best-selling anthologist of Poetry Unbound: 50 Poems to Open Your World (Canongate, 2022). His most recent collection is Kitchen Hymns (CHEERIO Publishing) and previous collections include In the Shelter, Sorry for Your Troubles, and Feed the Beasts, whose meditations on identity, sexuality, religion, and Irishness have propelled him to widespread acclaim in circles of poetry, politics, religion, conflict resolution, and psychotherapy. Having worked in conflict resolution for many years, he now presents the podcast Poetry Unbound with On Being Studios, which has amassed over sixteen million downloads since its launch in 2020. He splits his time between Belfast and New York City.
Fiona Benson Masterclass (6 spaces remaining)9.30am to 12.30pm, Saturday 17th May
Munster Literature Centre, 84 Douglas Street | Cost €75 (or €250 for all four masterclasses)
Limited to 8 participants
Fiona Benson lives in Devon with her husband and their two daughters. Her latest collection is Midden Witch. She has published three previous collections of poetry, all of which were shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize: Bright Travellers, which won the 2015 Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize and the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry’s Prize for First Full Collection, Vertigo & Ghost, which was shortlisted for the 2019 Rathbones Folio Prize and won both the Roehampton Poetry Prize and the Forward Prize for Best Collection, and Ephemeron, which was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize and the London Hellenic Prize.
Booking
To book your place please email info(at)munsterlit(dot)ie or phone +353(0)21 4322396. Payment will be accepted by cheque/postal order (made payable to the Munster Literature Centre), by credit card via PayPal (link provided on registration), or cash (payable in person at The Munster Literature Centre, Frank O'Connor House, 84 Douglas Street, Cork).
Additional Information
If you have limited mobility, please let us know in advance so we can arrange to make the experience as pleasant as possible for you. Every effort will be made to make sure that the programme proceeds as advertised but the Munster Literature Centre accepts no responsibility for changes made due to circumstances beyond our control—refunds will be given only if a workshop is cancelled. As workshops sell out, notification of such will be posted on this page.