The Munster Literature Centre is pleased to announce an initiative aimed at benefiting poets: The John Montague International Poetry Fellowship. The fellowship is made possible through the very generous sponsorship of University College Cork. The fellowship acknowledges the special place of poetry in the cultural history and contemporary practice of Cork City. The Munster Literature Centre hosts the largest annual poetry festival in Ireland.

Program Period

• The fellowship requires the poet to reside in Cork for twelve weeks and find time to work on their own writing.
• The poetry fellow would arrive in late January and depart late April.
• The fellow would contribute a public reading and also, a four-morning poetry masterclass to the Cork International Poetry Festival.
• During their twelve-week stay, they would provide a 5-credit workshop with the creative writing department of University College Cork.
• Their mentoring duties would consist of devoting two hours each, per week, to two Cork poets over eight weeks (32 hours total).
• Also, they will be into the literary and social life of the city where they will have the opportunity to network with resident established writers. They would present a farewell public reading at the Boole Library of University College Cork.

Benefits

• The successful fellow would benefit from the prestige of receiving a highly competitive international literary award. Further,  which will not only allow the candidate to spend time concentrating on their own work. However, also enable them to acquire experience in literary mentoring and the teaching of writing in an academic context.
• Further, the successful candidate will have the opportunity to be by living in one of Europe’s oldest cities, with well-developed cultural infrastructure and a thriving literary community.
• The successful fellow would receive a monthly stipend of €2000, totaling €6,000 and self-catering accommodation.
• The costs of economy air travel to and from Cork would also be covered.

Eligibility

• The recipient would be a poet from outside Ireland of international standing.
• Fellowship applications are from poets working in English from outside Ireland.
• The Poetry Fellow must have at least two full-length collections of poetry published.
• The successful candidate will be a poet by peers and preferably has experience in the coaching or teaching of other writers either through workshops and/or mentoring, inside or outside a formal academic setting.