Cork World Book Fest

The Cork World Book Fest was especially sprightly on account of the Dalkey Archive event, where Susana Medina and Tõnu Õnnepalu read from their contributions to Best European Fiction 2014. I learnt from Tonu that Estonian is a genderless language and from Susana all kind of contemplative thoughts on objects and of the ability the wearer of a cochlear implant has to turn it off. Revelations that appealed to me.

The weather in Cork was windy to start followed by a bit of rain and mostly sunshine. The buildings I had long forgotten about since I haven’t been to Cork for nearly 20 years. It’s a city that has maintained itself well when contemplated beside Dublin. The signage in Cork is fun. I took some photos and will upload them. Cork people are very warm. I long to return.

Plenty to think about in Cork. It’s a city with a thriving cultural scene. The city council seem committed to sustaining this. I was very impressed with the library where I taught a workshop on the 23rd of April. A lively and diverse group of 20+ people turned up and were very enthusiastic and engaged by what I offered them. This was invigorating. Thank you to them all and to the library who organized the workshop.