It is held annually in Cork City over several days in either late-June to mid-July, with over 20 poets reading at the 2017 event.
[1] Events take place in venues such as the Guesthouse and Firkin Crane within the city.
[2][1][3] The festival was initially directed by poet Trevor Joyce, who had co-founded New Writers Press in 1967 along with Michael Smith.
[4] Joyce (who lives in the Shandon area of Cork)[5] was invited to a US literary conference in the 1990s, and began planning the first 'Cork Alternative Poetry Festival' shortly afterwards.
[6] In 2005, the festival received European Capital of Culture funding and collaborated with contiguous arts events through the involvement of Fergal Gaynor, who was then co-curating the Cork Caucus.