Announcement of the 2012 International Poetry Festival of Granada

Cinthia Membreño | Nov 22, 2011

Reciting and listening to music in different languages is what the eighth edition of the International Poetry Festival of Granada will allow to its attendees on February 2012. According to information provided by its organizers yesterday, November 23, the event will be held in this colonial city, featuring the participation of renowned poets from five continents.

A group of 110 poets from 62 countries will be part of the greatest celebration that Nicaragua organizes in order to homage poetry and culture. Francisco de Asís Fernandez, president of the festival, also announced that this is the first time that the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malaysia and Santa Lucía will come to Nicaragua for this event.

Next year's event, which will be dedicated to the poet Carlos Martínez Rivas (1924 - 1998), will also salute the centennial of Pablo Antonio Cuadra's birthday (Nicaragua, 1912). Its slogan will be "La poesía es insurrección solitaria", which is related to one of Martinez's poetry books.

The scenarios will be varied and the majority of them will be located in the city of Granada, although there will also be performances in the municipalities of Nandaime, Diriomo, Masaya, Nindirí, Catarina, Niquinohomo, Masatepe, Jinotepe, Diriamba, San Marcos, León and Managua.

Simultaneous to the traditional poetry readings, panel discussions, workshops, presentations, dance performances and concerts, the festival will also include a Crafts Fair, Books Fair and a Poetic Carnival. The last one is a massive cultural expression that brings together all the diverse expressions of national folklore. It should be noted also that there will be a tribute to the Caribbean culture, women and youth in Nicaragua.

Another important element that was mentioned during the conference was the participation of the renowned poets Derek Walcott (Nobel Prize), Robert Pinsky (Pulitzer Prize nominee), Homero Aridjis (Xavier Villaurrutia Award) and Reynaldo Lacamara (President of the Association writers of Chile) for this edition.

Also, the festival's president appealed to government institutions, private initiatives, foreign governments and national media to sponsor the festival. "It is indisputable that this is one of the most important festivals in the world. The foundation needs more support, only then can we turn Nicaragua into the capital of the world poetry "he said.

About the honored poet

Carlos Martinez Rivas was born in Guatemala (1924) and died in Managua (1998). He lived in Madrid (Spain) and Paris (France) during a very bohemian period of cultural learning. There he met writers like Octavio Paz, Julio Cortazar, Blanca Varela and Peruvian painter Fernando de Szyslo.

Thanks to his collection of poems entitled "Infierno de Cielo y antes y después," he won the 1984 Ruben Dario Latin American Poetry Prize (Nicaragua). His latest book "La Insurrección Solitaria" was published in Mexico in 1953. Due to his alcoholism, his literary production became more and more scarce. His poetry can also be found in books such as "El paraíso recobrado" (1943) and "Poesía Reunida" (2007).