For more information about events and programmes at the festival, visit the festival page on this website, or www.poetry.nl, where there is also a comprehensive schedule of events.
The June issue of PIW is dedicated to the poets to be featured at the 40th Poetry International Festival, Rotterdam.
Five Dutch poets will be in the spotlight at the festival this year: L.F. Rosen, Gerrit Kouwenaar, Arjen Duinker, Nachoem M. Wijnberg and Rutger Kopland.
Many of the visiting poets currently live, or have lived, in the USA, though originate from elsewhere. These include Bei Dao (China), Dunya Mikhail (Iraq), Valzhyna Mort (Belarus), Vera Pavlova (Russia), Luke Davies (Australia) and Brian Turner (USA).
Other trans-national poets include Kazuko Shiraishi, who was born in Canada, but moved back to Japan just before the Second World War; Palestinian Mourid Barghouti, who has lived in Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait and Hungary; Chinese poet Yang Lian who was born in Switzerland, grew up in Beijing, and now lives London; George Szirtes, originally from Hungary, who writes in English and resides in the UK; and Henrik Nordbrandt, a Danish poet who has lived in Turkey, Greece and Italy.
We will also welcome Gert Vlok Nel (South Africa), Jacques Roubaud (France), Umberto Fiori (Italy), Tua Forsström (Finland), Piotr Sommer (Poland), Sigitas Parulskis, (Lithuania), Maura Dooley (UK) and Matthew Sweeney (Ireland).
Dunya Mikhail, ‘The War Works Hard’
http://international.poetryinternationalweb.org/piw_cms/cms/cms_module/index.php?obj_id=14381Clip of the Month:
Matthew Sweeney, ‘The Return’
http://international.poetryinternationalweb.org/piw_cms/cms/cms_module/index.php?obj_id=11142
Newslog:
Carol Rumens on W.H. Auden’s newly discovered poems
http://international.poetryinternationalweb.org/piw_cms/cms/cms_module/index.php?obj_id=14563
Live streaming schedule
For those of you who can’t make it to Rotterdam, you can watch the poets read via our live streaming of the International Poetry programme events. English translations will appear as the poets read in their original language.
All times shown are CET.
Saturday 13 June
Opening 20.00-21.45
Monday 15 June
Bits of Poetry: Mapping the shifting landscape of digital poetry 20.00-21.00
Yang Lian, Mourid Barghouti and Nachoem M. Wijnberg 21.30-22.30
Tuesday 16 June
Tatjana Daan presents Umberto Fiori, Jacques Roubaud and Gert Vlok Nel 20.00-21.00
Arjen Duinker, Sigitas Parulskis and George Szirtes 21.30-22.30
Wednesday 17 June
“The War Works Hard”: Brian Turner and Dunya Mikhail in conversation with Geert Buelens 20.00-21.00
Thursday 18 June
Martin Mooij presents Bei Dao, Maura Dooley and Kazuko Shiraishi 20.00-21.00
Valzhyna Mort, L.F. Rosen and Luke Davies 21.30-22.30
Friday 19 June
Tua Forsström, Gerrit Kouwenaar and Henrik Nordbrandt 20.00-21.00
“Kijk, het heeft gewaaid” (Look how windy it’s been), launch of an anthology of poems from the last 40 years of the festival 21.30-22.30
Felix Poetry Festival, Antwerp
On Thursday 18 June, two Poetry International Festival poets, Mourid Barghouti and Gert Vlok Nel, will appear at the Felix Poetry Festival in Antwerp. On Friday 19 June at 8p.m. the Felix festival will also host live video streaming of the Poetry International event with Tua Forsström, Gerrit Kouwenaar and Henrik Nordbrandt. For more information (in Dutch) about the Felix Poetry Festival, visit this webpage.