“We want to make poetry shine where the usual wear and tear doesn’t let us see it, to find poeticity in everyday gestures”, says Maria Callís to summarize Barcelona Poesia in one sentence, which starts tomorrow with 44 events that will culminate on the 22nd in the XXXIX International Poetry Festival at the Palau de la Música.
Callís and Manuel Forcano, curators of the contest, presented the bulk of the scheduled events this post-election Monday, starting with a triple opening (with a speech by Antònia Vicens, a show with several voices and a recital by Lydia Lunch; see attached information) and highlighting some of the self-produced acts such as Titó. 46 Minuts en la vida de l’alba, dramatized reading by Laura Pau based on a poem by the English writer Alice Oswald translated by Jaume Coll Mariné, with music by Aleix Puig and Manolo Martínez performed by the windu recorder quartet ( Sala Beckett, Thursday afternoon).
The interaction between words and music focuses on several of the acts, among which there are Xant de Cabrota – the shepherd poet Arnau Orobitg and the musician Arnau Obiols -, A les palpentes – the most mystical poems of Anna Gual with the singer and guitarist Angeladorrrm -, From silence -texts chosen by Perejaume recited by Sílvia Bel with flamenco music-, Elles -poems written by women by poet and cellist Glòria Coll Domingo, cellist Carolina Bartumeu and pianist Rosalía Gómez -Lasheras– and From Gomila to Gomila: Felanitx… sentimental origins –Andreu Gomila, Toni Gomila and Eduard Iniesta–.
Among the outstanding tributes of this edition, in addition to those dedicated to Joan Salvat-Papasseit (recital on Sunday evening with Joma, Elisabet Franch and Anna Maluquer) and Vicent Andrés Estellés (recital and popular paella on Sunday morning), they will have a prominent space two women who have been important in the city’s poetic community: Lis Costa (Public Poetry, Saturday morning at the Fundació Joan Brossa) and Ester Xargay, who was also curator of Barcelona Poetry between 2005 and 2011 (Saturday in the afternoon, an Ant(i)paraparemic demonstration passing by, among others, the old Horiginal, the Massana school and Arts Santa Mònica). The life trajectory of the Horiginal will be the poetic motif of the recital Chronicle of a (H)expulsion, by the current coordinators of the cycle, Laia Carbonell, Raquel Santanera and Maria Sevilla.
The collaboration within the Versopolis Network of European poetry festivals is evident with the Irish poet Annemarie Ní Churreáin and the Italian Valentina Colonna, in single translation slams and in two readings with music. And recitals by contrasting couples, such as Maria Isern and Chantal Poch, Antònia Vicens and Teresa Pascual, Perejaume and Carles Rabassa, Raquel Lima and Meritxell Cucurella-Jorba, Lluís Solà and Víctor Sunyol or Adolfo Häsler and Teresa Colom.
All this and much more, and we still need to add the off organized by organizations and libraries on their own, until closing, Wednesday 22nd, with the XXXIX International Poetry Festival at the Palau de la Música. This year the Basque poet Joseba Sarrionandia – the famous Sarri of the Kortatu song – is participating, the Barcelona resident in Jaca Francisco Ferrer Lerín – both will also give previous recitals –, the Slovenian Anja Golob, the Moroccan Abdellatif Laâbi and Raquel Santanera, immersed in a light and music show created by Aurora Bauzà and Pere Jou. A long week to live the poetry of every day.
