IX International Poetry Festival of Granada is announced

Róger Solórzano Canales | Oct 23, 2012

"Poetry is the song of the cosmos", is the motto of the ninth International Poetry Festival of Granada, to be held in the colonial city from February 17th to February 24th of 2013, in honor to the poet Ernesto Cardenal (1925). 130 poets from 70 countries, including Nicaragua, already confirmed their attendance. This information was provided today during the announcement conference held this morning in Managua.

The Poetry Festival, organized each year in the historic Granada since 2005, has evolved to become the most renowned art event in the country, and it has contributed to project Nicaragua internationally in the field of poetry. According to its president, the poet Francisco de Asis Fernandez, now is the largest festival of its kind in the world, thanks to the number of invited poets, the diversity of spaces intervened and the massive presence of the public.

The 2013 festival will pay tribute to the poet, sculptor and priest Ernesto Cardenal, born in Granada, for its international significance and contribution to American literature, organizers said. Cardenal is known for developing the art among rural communities in Solentiname archipelago. This year he was awarded the Prize for Poetry Queen Sofia of Spain, and in 2009 had already obtained Ibero-American Poetry Prize Pablo Neruda from Chile. His poetry has been translated into more than 20 languages.

Financial support is requested

During the conference, the speaker board members called on the national government, the National Assembly (Congress), private enterprise and friendly governments to financially support the event, as the foundation "has had great and very serious economic problems to continue next years", Hernández literally said.

The poet explained that only in the flight tickets for the poets and guests and the daily logistics of the festival, the investment is more than $400,000 (US dollars). Currently, the event has the financial backing of several embassies, the European Union, the Nicaraguan Tourism Board (INTUR) and several private companies. However, Hernandez said they need more funds to meet the requirements of a large event like this festival.

International Book Fair during Festival

Each year, the festival consists on various activities like reading tables, conferences, concerts, visits to neighboring cities, open mic spaces, a book fair, craft fair and carnival expressions crowded with folkloric dance performances samples from various regions of the country. According to organizers, since its inception the event has gathered more than a thousand poets from 106 countries of the world, and has been visited by over 450 thousand people.

Luz Marina Acosta, in charge of the book fair held during the festival, reported that during the 2013 festival, the activity will become the 17th edition of the International Book Fair of Central America (FILCEN), which is conducted annually in the region. For the fair, 25 Latin American publishing companies are interest on participating, and organizers expect various Nicaraguan publishers that will be invited to participate to join the festival.

Translated by Cynthia Cordero