I never thought I’d travel to Cork for an hour, but last Friday I had booked myself in for a manuscript makeover with James Harpur. This was the second time I’ve used this mentoring service, which is part of the Cork Spring Poetry Festival and I wanted to see how some of my new work was shaping up. Although I only had an hour, I managed to steal a little bit of time before and after the session. I had lunch in Iyer’s, which was really really tasty and when I was trying to find my car after the session, I walked by Sless Carpets, formerly owned by Jewish people from Cork. I was delighted with James’ feedback and would recommend this session to any poet, whatever their experience. It’s given me a new focus for my poems and I think I have unlocked the key as to why I didn’t think some of the poems weren’t working.
