But this time is not only about words, as we will be looking into sound, music and rhythms in poetry - and we will explore the impact of performance in perception of a poetic message. What is the future of poetry? How can one address and captivate the new generations with poems? These are only a few questions we will tackle.
The Future of Living - Festival opening night
23/09 – 6PM @ Citizens’ Garden
Rue Vautier / Vautierstraat 62
B-1050 Brussels
Celebrate poetry from around Europe and discover poetry through European cultures. Hear from the following:
Nina Dragičević from Slovenia – not just a poet, essayist, composer and holder of a Master’s degree in Sociology, but also the author of four books. She was the author in focus at the international festival of contemporary arts The City of Women in 2019, and is a member of the Slovenian Writers’ Association. Moreover, she won the Knight of Poetry competition in 2018, and was the first in its history to receive both the Jury Award and the People’s Choice award!
Pelumi Adejumo from The Netherlands - a writer, photographer, singer, occasional translator and dramatist. She studied Creative Writing at ArtEZ University of the Arts and was included in NRC Handelsblad’s 2020 list of 101 promising artists in the Low Countries. Her writing draws on song and sound, invented languages and untranslations.
Elsa Tölli from Finland - not only a performance poet, but also a whimsical enchanter, fuelling their creative machinery with life adventures, wacky glamour, and stageinduced adrenaline. Tölli takes the stage filled with emotional ruckus presented in their undeniable presence, sharing sharp and snappy poetry in vibrantly colourful performances. She believes that poetry is the true soil of society, from which new indescribable vines can grow.
Sara Herrera Peralta from Spain is a graphic designer and author of eleven books of poetry, three of them prize-winning. She was born in Trebujena (Spain) and currently lives in Cazals (Le Lot, France). Being curious about different disciplines, she has a training and learning experience in multidisciplinary studies: from an MA in Comparative Literature at Paris-Sorbonne University to an MA in Marketing Communication Management at the UOC University.
Moderator: Carmien Michels. Antwerp based author and performer Carmien Michels dances between the urban and the classic. In 2016, she won both the Dutch and the European Championship Poetry Slam and came in third at the World Cup in Paris. Collaborating with various artists, she has been touring around ever since. Fragments of her novels, poetry collections and short stories have been published in ten languages. She is the founder and curator of WATLAB, an Antwerp based dynamic studio for literary artists. In October 2021, her first collection of short stories, Fathers Who Mourn, will be published by Querido.
Event in partnership with the European Parliament and Europe Readr.
Please note that hygienic measurements for public safety will be in place. Registration to the public event at the Citizens’ Garden is recommended.
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For the full program of the festival click here.