World Poetry Day 2022
World Poetry Day 2022 is a project of the Granada City of Literature UNESCO Programme (Arts Departament of the Granada City Council), in collaboration with the University of Granada (through the Aula de Literatura and the Centro de Lenguas Modernas) and the Asociación del Diente de Oro.
World Poetry Day | Monday, March 21, 2022 | Readings at: Cuarto Real de Santo Domingo, from 12.30 pm to 2 pm | Botanical Garden, from 5 pm to 6.30 pm | Granada City Council Patio, from 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm
Prologue: Slam Poetry Granada. Centro de Lenguas Modernas. Saturday, March 19, at 12 noon (broadcast live on the Madraza’s YouTube channel).
Free admission until full capacity
A bit of history
As you know, in 1999 UNESCO declared 21 March as World Poetry Day. Granada particularly celebrates this date since 2017, when the Granada UNESCO City of Literature Programme designed a set of public readings of poets of the city in bookstores and other institutional spaces. The initiative was a success and has since been incorporated into the annual calendar of relevant cultural activities in Granada.
Objectives
The celebrations of World Poetry Day were conceived with the objectives of promoting our bookstores, familiarizing citizens with the public reading of poems, strengthening contact between poets and the reading public, spread to our poets and spread the national and international image of Granada as a city producing literature.
Internationalization of the project
The project became international in 2018 when Granada exhibited its World Poetry Day model to the UNESCO Cities of Literature. Since then a growing group of Cities of Literature from all over the world celebrate this date together with Granada. Each city organizes its own events, but they connect with each other to multiply their diffusion. Granada designs each year the poster (the author of the 2022 poster is Jacinto Gutiérrez), which offers the Cities of Literature to adapt it by modifying the names, information about events, logos, etc. In addition, cities generate a single international press release that is sent to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.
The 2022 project. News and changes
In 2021 World Poetry Day was resized to adapt to the health situation resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. Two events were designed, both in person, but without an audience, one at the La Chumbera Municipal Center and another at the Center of Modern Languages of the University of Granada. The University joined for the first time as a collaborating entity for World Poetry Day and repeats its collaboration in 2022.
On March 21, 2022 we propose again the idea of a great public reading involving poets residing in Granada and occupying a large part of the day. The official inauguration will take place at 12:30 pm, in the Cuarto Real de Santo Domingo, and will be attended by the Mayor of Granada, Paco Cuenca, and the Vice Rector of University Extension of the University of Granada, Víctor Medina, in addition to the initial reading of the poets Rosa Berbel, Olalla Castro, Juan Carlos Friebe and María Elena Higueruelo. The readings will be extended throughout the afternoon, in two public spaces, the Botanical Garden, next to the Faculty of Law, and the Granada City Council Patio, in Plaza del Carmen. A transfer of the readings to the theatre of the Centro Federico García Lorca is planned in case the rain prevents outdoor events.
A minute’s silence before the readings
A minute’s silence will be requested in all areas before the readings begin, in tribute to the victims of the war in Ukraine.
Venues. Inauguration. Cuarto Real de Santo Domingo
The official opening of the day of readings will take place in the Cuarto Real de Santo Domingo, from 12:30 pm, with free admission until full capacity is reached. Speakers will include: Paco Cuenca, Mayor of Granada, Víctor Medina, Vice Rector of University Extension of the UGR. You will be able to enjoy the reading of poems by:
Rosa Berbel
Olalla Castro
Juan Carlos Friebe
María Elena Higueruelo
Venues. Botanical Garden
The first reading session of the afternoon will take place outdoors in the Botanical Garden of the University of Granada, next to the Faculty of Law. It will start at 5 pm and will last until 6:30 pm, with free admission until full capacity is reached. The participating poets and the approximate times of their readings are:
5.10 pm – Javier Benítez Láinez
5.13 pm – Marga Blanco
5.16 pm – Javier Bozalongo
5.19 pm – Lola Callejón
5.22 pm – Carmen Canet
5.25 pm – Pedro Luis Casanova
5.28 pm – Jorge Díaz
5.31 pm – Mónica Doña
5.34 pm – Mónica Francés
5.37 pm – Trinidad Gan
5.40 pm – Carmen Hernández Montalbán
5.43 pm – Iñaki López de Aberasturi
5.46 pm – Juan E. Martín
5.49 pm – Luis Melgarejo
5.52 pm – Alejandro Pedregosa
5.55 pm – Ramón Repiso
5.58 pm – Ángel Rodríguez
6.01 pm – Milena Rodríguez
6.04 pm – José Carlos Rosales
6.07 pm – Carmen Salas del Río
6.10 pm – Alfonso Salazar
6.13 pm – Marina Tapia
6.16 pm – José Luis Vicario
Venues. Granada City Council Patio
The readings will continue in the Granada City Council Patio, in the Plaza del Carmen, from 6:30 pm until 8:30 pm, with free admission until full capacity. The participating poets and the approximate times of their readings are:
6.40 pm – Carlos Allende
6.43 pm – Carlos Andreoli
6.46 pm – Miguel Ángel Barrera Maturana
6.49 pm – Paula Bozalongo
6.52 pm – Virgilio Cara
6.55 pm – Joaquín Carmona
6.58 pm – Eduardo Castro
7.01 pm – Juan José Castro
7.04 pm – Nieves Chillón
7.07 pm – Alicia Choín
7.10 pm – Miguel Ángel Contreras
7.13 pm – Pedro Enríquez
7.16 pm – Guillermo García Domingo
7.22 pm – Teresa Gómez
7.25 pm – José Miguel Gómez Acosta
7.28 pm – Azucena G. Blanco
7.31 pm – Ioana Gruia
7.34 pm – Katia-Sofia Hakim
7.37 pm – Juanjo Ibáñez
7.40 pm – Fernando Jaén
7.43 pm – Alfredo Lombardo
7.46 pm – Fernando López Castellano
7.49 pm – Erika Martínez
7.52 pm – Gracia Morales
7.55 pm – Noelia Muñoz
7.58 pm – Andrés Neuman
8.01 pm – Juan Javier Ortigosa
8.04 pm – Juan Peregrina
8.07 pm – Gerardo Rodríguez Salas
8.10 pm – Ana Rosillo
8.13 pm – Jesús Saavedra
8.16 pm – Álvaro Salvador
8.19 pm – Fernando Soriano
8.22 pm – Javier Calderón
8.25 pm – Javier Gilabert
Slam Poetry Granada in the Centro de Lenguas Modernas
With a 13-year tradition, Poetry Slam Granada is one of the longest-running venues on the Iberian Peninsula, and has produced poets such as Gata Cattana and Sergio Escribano.
The activity of the Center for Modern Languages will be, as a prologue to the World Poetry Day, on Saturday, March 19, at 12 noon. Ten poets, among which are some of the best exponents of national scenic poetry, will come to Granada to show their creations live before the public, who will have to decide which poet is the one they like the most. The participation is open, so in addition to the poets of the circuit are expected new participants. Each poet has three minutes, the texts must be their own and the use of props or musical instruments is not allowed. The event will have as guest artist Elliot Arai and will be presented by Marina Marina.
Other UNESCO Cities of Literature to host events on 21 March
Dunedin (New Zealand), Heidelberg (Germany), Krakow (Poland), Kuhmo (Finland), Manchester (United Kingdom), Melbourne (Australia), Milan (Italy), Nanjin (China), Nottingham (United Kingdom), Óbidos (Portugal), Reykjavík (Iceland), Tartu (Estonia) and Wonju (South Korea).
To celebrate World Poetry Day 2022, Melbourne UNESCO City of Literature brought together writers from fellow UNESCO Cities of Literature to read the poem “So I’ll Talk About It” by Ukrainian poet Serhiy Zhadan, translated by John Hennessy and Ostap Kin, to form a chain poem that reaches around the world to Stand With Ukraine.
Poets Gerardo Rodríguez Salas and Javier Gilabert participated from Granada.
Here’s the poem in full:
Pictures
