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Internationally renowned poet Matthew Sweeney is just one of the poets taking part in the second Fermoy International Poetry Festival taking place over the August bank holiday weekend.

There's been a major buy in from local businesses to the international poetry festival taking place in the town on the August Bank Holiday weekend.

Festival Director Gene Barry is delighted at the pro-active response from the local business community and their enthusiasm and willingness to get involved. Ahead of the festival's official launch on Friday night at the Grand Hotel, he told the Avondhu that with six pubs and four restaurants added to this year’s list of venues and the launching of four books at the festival, it already looks like a winner for the town of Fermoy.

"This year’s festival line-up, coupled with the huge increase in venues will without doubt, put Fermoy International Poetry Festival on the international poetry map as a must to visit next year," he said. Over the last two years Barry’s Elbow Lane Poetry has brought 27 world class poets to the town to read and will host poet-in-residence at UCC, Matthew Sweeney at the festival launch this Friday. 

Tracey O’Regan, owner of Café Mocha in Fitzgerald Place has come up with a poetry first for the Fermoy International Poetry Festival. Café Mocha will have poetry menus on all of the tables for customers to choose from in tandem with their food orders. There will be starters, short poems and main courses of longer classic poems and these can be topped off with some sweet poems for dessert! Irish and international poets who will be on standby to deliver the customer’s orders will recite the poems for each of the customers. 

Bermingham’s Pharmacy will host another first with their 'perfume poetry'. Once again international and Irish poets will be reciting their own series of perfume-themed poems at the pharmacy in Patrick Street on Friday August 2nd and Saturday August 3rd.     

Mary McNulty of Cheers bar will hold a poetry cheerfest on Monday 5th. This unique event will see poets reading humorous poetry of their own and their favourite poems by other poets. There will be an open mic session where customers can read from a selection of poetry on hand, or read their own humorous poems. 

There will also be readings in the Torten and O'Brien's restaurants on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday and in AIB bank and Ulster Bank on the Friday. The Forge restaurant and bar, Charlie Mac’s Bistro Bar, Cheers, The Wagon, The Grand Hotel and Crowley’s Bar have been added to this year’s list of venues where poetry readings, poetry workshops and book launches will take place. 

Not to be outdone, Joe and Cliona of the Grand Hotel, which will be the base for the festival and a hub of activity over the festival weekend, have come up with what they are calling 'The Poetry Impromptu Podium.' The podium used for the official launch of the festival will be left in the bar for the duration of the festival and poets are invited to read there any time of day during the five days.

All are invited to attend the launch on Friday night in the Grand Hotel at 8pm.

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