Ó Bhéal Poetry Reading Cork

Off to Cork tomorrow to read at Ó Bhéal, Winthorp Street, Cork. I've never been there but I've heard great reports about it. Really looking forward to it but a bit apprehensive as well. The night begins with a Poetry Challenge starting around 9.00pm. Guest poets begin about 10.00pm for between 30-45 minutes, after which there is an open-mic session.

Quite a long reading then so an opportunity to try out a variety of stuff and see what goes down well with a view to the final selection for the Introduction on Thursday night next. That set list not finalised yet! Like most of these reading the audience is composed of fellow poets, who are both sympathetic and critical.

This reading is held weekly and the list is impressive: Pat Borthwick, Rita Kelly, Anne-Marie Fyfe most recently and Kathy D’Arcy next week. The accomplished Richard Halperin who I have been bumping into here and there, most recently in Limerick on Thursday night - he has a poem in Revival 19 - is the guest reader on 23 May.