The Well Review journal was created in 2016 to house and support outstanding poetry. The print journal featured work by poets such as Anne Carson, Ishion Hutchinson, Paul Muldoon and many emerging writers. The annual journal included translated work from Arabic, Bosnian, French, Galician and also a reprint of Sylvia Plath’s radio play, ‘Three Women’.

The journal birthed readings, book launches and festival appearances in Ireland and the United Kingdom. The Well Review received Arts Council funding from 2018-2021 and has worked in partnership with The Munster Literature Centre and The West Cork Literary Festival for several years. The Well Review has also secured grants from The Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation, Cork County Council and Cork City Council.

The third and final journal appeared in 2019 and we switched to pamphlet publishing in 2020. We now use more eco-conscious practices and our pamphlets are printed by Badly Made Books. We love to work collaboratively with local makers in Cork in Ireland and also with international writers and artists who are inspired by their own communities.

Between 2021 and 2022, we began to grow our online community through correspondence courses, then live Zoom craft workshops. Our initial intention grew backwards (if artistic practice can ever be thought of as linear!) and we changed our emphasis from publication to practice. You can read more about our learning opportunities here.

In 2023, we will increase our digital content to host guest writers, ideas and change-makers. In the longer-term we are interested in how collaborative artistic principles can be applied to physical spaces such as prisons and other transient communities.

Team

Artistic Director: Sarah Byrne

Design: Christian Carley

Collaborator: Mary-Jane Holmes