East Cork to enjoy a month of Sundays
County Cork’s cultural tapestry is about to become even richer with the inaugural Midleton Literary Festival set to cut its teeth next month.
The festival, subtitled The Words - A Month of Sundays, is a vibrant, community-focused celebration of storytelling, poetry, performance, and song, taking place across three Sunday evenings starting from 8 February.
Over the course of the festival, writers, artists, and audiences will come together through readings, panels, workshops, and performances, with an aim to foster cross-genre collaboration, inclusivity, and creativity.
Amy Vickers, literary co-ordinator at Midleton MyPlace and Chairwoman of the Midleton Writers’ Group, says: “East Cork has needed a hub to bring together writers of diverse backgrounds and genres for some time.
“We would love all our fellow writers in the community to join in these events over the three Sundays in February. Sure, what else would you be doing on those cold, dark winter evenings?”
The festival kicks off on 8 February with Words to Page, an evening of poetry and written word running from 5-7pm. The evening will feature several fascinating tales by professional storyteller Terri Ryan; poetry and discussion with local poet Paudrig Lee; performance poetry from 2024 Munster Poetry Slam Champion, Kemi George Simpson; and an open mic session welcoming poetry, short fiction, memoir, and works-in-progress in an encouraging space.
Week two introduces From Page to Stage, a lively, collaborative conversation bringing together writers, playwrights, filmmakers, and performers to explore storytelling across theatre, film, and performance. The event, running from 5-7pm on 15 February, looks to demystify the creative process and encourage collaboration across artistic disciplines. Playwrights Alice Barry and Brendan Griffin will discuss writing for stage and screen, narrative structure, pacing and collaboration, followed by film-making performance poet Stan Notte, blending poetry, performance, and video with open mic participation.
The festival will finish on 22 February with From Spark to Song, an immersive exploration of songwriting, from the first flicker of an idea to fully formed music running from 5-7pm. Songwriter Jasmin O’Davidson will talk about the lyricist’s craft and finding an authentic voice followed by the East Cork Songwriting Group, led by Eavan O’Leary, who will demonstrate how melody, harmony, and collaboration shape emotion and meaning. Audience participation, spontaneous sing-alongs, and open mic performances are all to be expected.
Running alongside the live events is a visual literary art exhibition showcasing innovative works that blend text and visual art.
All events will take place at MyPlace Midleton on Mill road.