Full Funded Fellowship for Poets for 3 Months in Ireland 2020

The Munster Literature Center invites poets from all over the world to apply for the John Montague International Poetry Fellowship for 2020. The fellowship  is made possible through the very generous sponsorship of University College Cork. It acknowledges the special place of poetry in the cultural history and contemporary practice of Cork City, as the Munster Literature Centre hosts the largest annual poetry festival in Ireland.

Duties of the fellowship:

The fellowship requires the poets to reside in Cork for  twelve weeks and find time to work on their own writing. Poetry fellows would arrive in late January and depart late April, and they would contribute a public reading and 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). They will  be welcomed 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.

Eligibility criteria:

1. The recipient would be a poet from outside Ireland of international standing
2. Fellowship applications are invited from poets working in English from outside Ireland
3. The Poetry Fellow must have at least two full-length collections of poetry published. The successful applicant will be a poet respected 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

Benefits:

The successful fellow would benefit from the prestige of  receiving a highly competitive international literary award which will not only  allow the poets to spend time concentrating on their own work, but also enable them to acquire experience in literary mentoring and the teaching of writing in an academic context. The successful applicant will have the opportunity to be inspired by living in one of Europe’s oldest cities, with a 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.