Writers on the highways

The new Cork Literary Review will be promoted across America this week, writes Colette Sheridan

THE Cork Literary Review (Volume XIV) has a strong international flavour this year, with its inaugural American section showcasing the best of contemporary American poetry, edited and introduced by multi-award-winning American poet Brian Turner. To celebrate this, the Cork Literary Review will tour five American cities, beginning this week, with readings by editor of the journal, poet, Eugene O’Connell as well as readings by Turner and poet and director of Poetry Ireland, Joseph Woods. The tour will take in San Francisco, Berkeley, Chicago, Boston and New York. It is being funded by Culture Ireland’s Imagine Ireland initiative, which celebrates the Irish arts in the US. The San Francisco leg of the tour is funded by Cork City Council’s Twinning committee, acknowledging Cork’s special relationship with the city.

Since it first appeared in 1994, the Cork Literary Review, published by Bradshaw Books, has evolved from a slim anthology of winning competition entries into a significant literary journal. Through the years, it has featured contributions from leading Irish poets and writers, including Séamus Heaney, Paul Durcan, Thomas McCarthy, Frank McGuinness, Medbh McGuckian and William Wall.