Poetry is also a just and honourable peace for Colombia

Defense of International Poetry festival of Medellín

Voilà quelques semaines, un message email m’est parvenu de Medellín. Sa lecture, je ne vous le cache pas, n’a eu depuis de cesse de me donner à penser. Son auteur vous est Fernando Rendón est le directeur du Festival International de Poésie de Medellín et le récipiendaire du prix Nobel alternatif en 2006. Dernièrement, des allégations en forme d’attaques ont été dirigées contre lui et le festival qu’il dirige. Dans le contexte colombien actuel, ces attaques relayées par deux quotidiens de Medellín ne me paraissent rien moins que menaçantes.

Aussi mon inquiétude est grande. Pour ce qui est des activités de Fernando Rendón et du festival je n’ai que mon témoignage à apporter. J’ai eu la chance d’y participer voilà quatre ans. Inutile de vous dire que cette expérience m’a profondément marqué. Elle m’a marqué moins par l’affluence publique aux lectures – laquelle était colossale – ou par la rencontre avec des poètes de cultures différentes – comme j’aurais pu m’y attendre – que par une prise de conscience soudaine du caractère ouvert de la poésie. J’entends par là qu’une certaine poésie, qu’importe les conditions dans lesquelles elle est écrite, qu’importe la raison, ne cesse de trouver de nouveaux lieux, de nouveaux contextes à une nouvelle expression et donc à un partage renouvelé.

La poésie telle que je l’entends ici n’est pas simplement une poésie du mot ou une poésie du moi. Elle est plutôt, pour reprendre les mots d’un poète écossais, une poésie du monde. Et en étant poésie du monde, force est de reconnaître qu’elle ne connaît ni frontières ni barrières. En elle importe plus la vie de qui la fait sienne que le prestige de celui ou celle qui en est l’auteur. Voilà peut-être pourquoi, à mes yeux, le Festival de poésie de Medellín est si important. Il redonne à penser la place et le lieu de la poésie dans nos sociétés et il montre combien ceux-là sont et restent d’une extrême importance pour tout un chacun, qu’il soit poète ou non.

Qu’un tel festival prenne place dans une ville comme Medellín, longtemps gangrenée par la violence et dans un pays comme la Colombie encore sous le coup d’une trop longue « guerre », même si cette dernière n’en a pas le nom, pose certaines questions. Le poème serait-il un refuge contre la violence ? C’est bien ce que nous dit, dans un autre contexte, à une autre époque, le poète nordaméricain William Carlos Williams : le poème, « en lui, le monde peut, et souvent doit, chercher refuge. »

Y trouve à vrai dire avant tout refuge la liberté d’expression ; c’est-à-dire de donner et de partager mais aussi de critiquer et de questionner, sachant que le poète critique et questionne sa propre existence plus que quiconque. Une société se voulant démocratique et ouverte au dialogue entre les cultures ne peut que gagner en laissant prospérer un festival comme celui de Medellín. Cette conviction, je l’ai faite mienne voilà quatre ans. Je suis très reconnaissant à la Suisse qu’elle appuie Fernando Rendón et le Festival de poésie depuis de longues années et j’espère qu’elle continuera à le faire. Et je tiens à remercier la fondation Ernst et Lucie Schmidheiny à Genève d’avoir rendu pour moi cette expérience possible.

Mes meilleures salutations,

Alexandre Gillet
06/09/2008
Genève, Suisse

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Dear Fernando, Here is my supporting statement

Even though I have not been able to attend the International Poetry Festival at Medellin, I nevertheless hold it in the highest esteem, and consider it to be perhaps the most important international festival of the past two decades. It is renowned by leading intellectuals in many countries. The fact that it is now under attack by Colombian "para-military intellectuals" is shocking news indeed to our international literary community. Such attacks cast shame on Colombia itself. If such a cultural treasure were to be abolished, it would be a major loss to us all. Let us hope that more enlightened Colombian leaders will not allow this to happen.

Lawrence Ferlinghetti
First Poet Laureate of San Francisco

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Dear Fernando Rendón,

Dear Director of the International Poetry Festival of Medellin .

Our friend Michael Augustin of Radio Bremen did inform me about your e-mail to him about the accusations to your festival form the “paramilitary intellectuals” in your country. May be that you will remember that in 1999 you invited me to attend the festival and to be your guest, together with the Dutch poet Remco Campert. For me as the co-founder of the festival Poetry International in Rotterdam / the Netherlands and the organizer of that festival from 1970 to and including 1996 and from that year as the general secretary of the Foundation Poets of All Nations (PAN) for me it was a great honour to be your guest and that of the festival: I was highly impressed by it. For me it was great to observe what was done by you and your colleagues in the interest of the participating poets from so many countries, for the unbelievable number of visitors and the many, many poetry programs and encounters. After my friend Remco Campert, from 1950 a main poet in the Netherlands, had read his verse for an audience of over 10.000 visitors – in the rain! – afterwards he told me that now for him a boys’ dream was fulfilled. It was for the first time in his life that he had been so very successful. He also was grateful to his translator, who was presenting his poetry in a Spanish translation.. For us it was a great experience to be your guests and also now I am very often speaking of this great experience at yours. For me it was of real importance that so much was done by you, your board and your assistants on behalf of the poets and of the audiences to make the event possible even, in the difficult situation in your country. For me the International Poetry Festival of Medellin is of the greatest importance and value and will have to be continued in the years to come. In my opinion it is the most important event in this field. It became clear to me that it is necessary and that Columbia has to be grateful to and to be proud of you and your colleagues.

Since a very long time I have to do with poetry festivals in many countries: in Europe in Belgium (Antwerp and Gand), in Germany (Bremen , Berlin , Dresden) in Macedonia (Struga), but also

In Mexico , Canada , South-Africa , Israel , Indonesia , and so on. Also there guests came from all over the world and from nearby, bringing both unfamiliar languages and those we could understand. Poets from all schools and movements have been present, only their words mattered. Sometimes poets could not even be classified according to nationality, origins, creed and background. Your festival is organised in a vey nice and in the same time very human way. You can be very proud of it.

Ideologies are not to be found at all. Many poets had a sufficiently difficult time anyway, in protecting their work against dogma, doctrine and fundamental thinking in general, and in trying to remain standing themselves. It is always the poetry that matters, their own voice, different though it might have been from the others. All could have their say and everything could be heard and said. That is only possible since your festival was and still is completely in dependent. I am convinced that this must be extremely difficult in your country in that situation of a cruel war. At the same time it makes it clear that the country needs your festival, since it is a place where poets and visitors are welcome without any hostility, just like normal people want to see each other. The festival is a place of peace and human understanding. People need it, all of them, are tired and sick of this endless civil war. I am sure that it will take all your energy and courage to continue your work. Everywhere where I have been I have seen the political problems and difficulties, but everywhere where I did come I also could see that these encounters where a way to peace and to better human understanding. You and your colleagues are doing your work in your way in the interest of so many people. Therefore I want to thank you from whole my heart. Please continue your task and let your opponents be ashamed of their inhuman actions!

With best regards and love,

Your Martin Mooij

General secretary of the foundation Poets of All Nations (PAN)

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Caro Fernando Rendón,

Queira registar as minhas cordiais saudações extensivas a toda nomenclatura logística que vem transformando o Festival de Poesia de Medellín na manifestação humanística única no Mundo, perante a voz unânime da comunidade de poetas da África, América, Ásia, Europa e Oceânia, que eu tive a honra e o privilégio de participar.

Registei com imensa tristeza e amarga consternação as deturpadas notícias, as infundadas acusações e a torpeza das calúnias que certos sectores vêm procurando destruir os alicerces do prestígio nacional e internacional do Festival de Poesia de Medellín.

Pessoalmente e em nome da Associação dos Escritores Cabo-verdianos expresso o meu profundo repúdio contra os detractores da obra sublime que vem, ano a ano, transformando a cidade de Medellín na capital harmónica do movimento da paz contra a guerra.

Confesso. Jamais assisti e testemunhei algo de tão grandioso como o Festival de Medellín, onde milhares de corações se unem contra a guerra, onde a poesia é um construtor de humanismo, uma força de coesão multicultural e multiracial, ao serviço da paz no Mundo, da comunhão e da solidariedade em prol do povo sofrido da Colômbia: merecedor a justo título do Prémio Nobel Alternativo 2006.

Reiterando a força do meu profundo repúdio. Digo. AVANTE Festival de Poesia de Medellín, como inabalável alicerce dos direitos humanos na afirmação cultural da cidadania.

Alta e fraternal consideração.

De,

Corsino Fortes
Cape Verde

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Medellín 2008

On a monday morning in the summer of 2002 a taxi drove me and a Paraguayan poet to José María Córdova Airport. When we got out, the driver took my hand and said: “Please, come back. Come back, please.” I said I would, absolutely.

It takes six years. Then the International Poetry Festival of Medellín shows me its face for the second time. Embracing dear friends, talking, telling, laughing. Eating and drinking. Listening, watching, meeting new people, making notes, finding out about unknown poetries, translating, offering. Crossing streets, passing through sounds and colors and lips and lives. I do six readings in Medellín and four more in Barrancabermeja. Did I ever read for the workers of an oil refinery at 5.30 in the morning? Men and women waving at us, thanking us, the poets? The breakfast, afterwards, on the bank of the river Magdalena – mojarra frita, arroz, yuca, papas, patacón – makes me wonder if such things as transcendental experiences do exist after all.

Look, the International Poetry Festival of Medellín is reality and dream, is curiosity and desire, is attention and gratitude, is intensity and hope. Is one of the very special faces of poetry, and unique. The audiences it attracts are incredible, the amosphere at the readings is able to change one’s conception of language.

Did I talk to people? Yes. Did we talk about daily life and wishes and music and football and politics and social circumstances? Yes, we did. Did I show pictures of my daughters? I did. Did I hear different voices coming out of different mouths? Different stories, different opinions? I did, yes.

Together with various poets from various countries I read in various places: Museo Antioquia, Fundación Universtaria Bellas Artes, Parque Lleras, Centro Comunitario in Barrio San Pío, Cerro Nutibara, Pequeño Teatro... there, after the readings had finished, a young boy, six or seven years old, came up to me, a piece of paper in his hand. “Can I give you something?” “Yes, of course you can.” He gave me the paper, a drawing of me and mountains and a sun, my heart being a radiant object too. And he had written: un sol resucitado nos habita. Then his name, Mario Alberto. I’m looking at the piece of paper now, in Delft, my hometown and place of birth, knowing I will go back again. My life is a life in poetry and poetry needs the world.

The Festival in Medellín doesn’t close eyes, it opens them, both ways.

Arjen Duinker
The Netherlands

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Dear Fernando:

The International Poetry Festival of Medellin is an international treasure. Here poets come together to learn more about Colombia and its many and various problems and to try to become part of a nonviolent solution. Here Arab & Jew, North American and Asian, indigenous peoples and exiles, male and female poets address the real work of poetry in an age of violence and terrorism. Here poetry is understood to be a part of the solution— as it has been throughout human history.

Wars are begun with words, sustained by words, and are concluded by words. Poets unmask The Lie. Poets inspire clarity of thought, word and deed. The Poetry Festival of Medellín has amply demonstrated how people can come together in hope and compassion in their search for safe, secure lives, and what an important role poetry can play in their struggle. No poet who has ever faced the huge, enthusiastic crowds drawn to this festival will ever forget the people of Colombia and Colombia's ongoing turmoil and tragedy. We who have been hosted by the fine people of the festival will never turn our backs to the problems Colombia faces: we become unofficial goodwill ambassadors, representatives of the voices of nonviolence, reason and compassion. The festival celebrates poetry just as poetry celebrates life.

Every year, the Festival sends out into the far corners of the world dozens of these highly articulate goodwill ambassadors who enlighten others about Colombia's plight, its hopes and dreams. And every year the people of Medellín learn about Palestinian life, Japanese life, Canadian life, Jordanian life, ad infinitum. And no matter how foreign the culture or the language, we discover again and again that we share one human heart. It is also a cultural exchange that inspires many young Colombians to learn more about Buddhist poetics or Arabic song, Greek dance or Estonian cuisine. Education is the only true solution to the problems we face together, and the festival serves wonderfully. Everyone comes away with a life enriched, new friendships made and new kinds of inspiration.

My participation in the festival in 2003 altered the course of my life. After decades of studying and translating classical Chinese and Japanese, I suddenly found myself longing to know my neighbors in Latin America far more deeply. Consequently, my wife and I have spent about half of each year these past four years living in Buenos Aires, where she was tutored in Spanish while I studied history and literature. We may well move to Buenos Aires or Montevideo. I plan to publish Latin American poets under my Middlepoint Books imprint at Curbstone Press, beginning with my friend Esteban Moore, whom I met in Medellín and who persuaded us to visit Buenos Aires.

The International Poetry Festival of Medellín embodies a great generosity of spirit, a democratic spirit born in the conviction that the world can be made better if we can learn to listen and speak carefully, to truly hear one another, to hear (as the Buddhist bodhisattva says) "the cries of the world." In the midst of a nation triangulated and bloodied for more than half a century, the Medellin festival as risen like a shining light; it has been the source of tears and laughter, joys and sorrow spoken and sung; it has brought throngs of people together to celebrate life in all its aspects; and it has become the exemplar of poetry festivals everywhere, from New Zealand to Switzerland. It is a treasure.

Sam Hamill
United States

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I write from Ireland, to express my great appreciation of the Annual Poetry Festival of Medellin.

It is truly international, bringing important Writers from all over the world and in so doing, making the rest of the world more aware of Colombia, its problems, but most of all, of what it has to offer to us all. In this regard, I remember especially the amazing kindness and generosity of the people of Medellin. I can truly say that in all my travels around the world as a professional writer (author of 20 collections; 20 other collections translated into world languages) I have never met people who were more impressive or loveable. Both my wife, the President of The Hopkins Society constantly remarked on the generosity of Colombians -- something which we could never have guessed at without attending the Medellin Poetry Festival.

I was also deeply impressed by the great interest taken by a large cross-section of people in Poetry. They thronged the squares to hear us and they packed that wonderful amphitheatre in their thousands. This is something very special. These people obviously find that poetry answers a need. Their enthusiasm and wrapped attention were simply remarkable: I have never come across anything like it in any other country.

On top of all this, the organization of the Medellin Poetry Festival was beyond praise. All the visitors were made to feel part of one happy family and this was due in no small measure to the untiring work and attention of the organizers, ably led by Fernando Rendon.

From all the above, it can be seen that I consider the Medellin Poetry Festival a jewel in the crown of Colombia: something precious and priceless; a Festival of which Colombia can be proud. The work it continues to do is unique and beyond price. Medellin and Colombia can well be pround of it and treasure it. It is inconceivable that the Festival should not receive continuous and indeed, increasing support. It and it alone, have brought Ireland and Colombia much closer in a cultural and in a human way - and I am very grateful for that.

Desmond Egan
Ireland

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Dear Fernando,

Année après année depuis près de deux décennies, les organisateurs du Festival international de poésie de Medellin lancent un pari que les poètes du monde entier, en participant à ce grand rendez-vous de la poésie, les aident à réaliser : apporter à la population lasse de la violence une trêve dans son quotidien, un message d’amour, une part d’imagination, de rêve et de lumière, et une manière d’espérer. Alors la parole poétique prend tout son sens, certains mots deviennent nécessaires, la poésie est ce «geste qui compte», elle est refus de la désolation, lieu préservé où l’on peut vivre, respirer, et où domine un profond respect de l’autre. Le public de Medellin ne s’y trompe pas. Il est lui aussi présent, nombreux, fervent, attentif – «le peuple le plus poétique du monde», comme l’a qualifié un soir l’un des poètes invités. Le Festival de Medellin est sans conteste la manifestation la plus intense, la plus poignante, la plus poétique de celles auxquelles il m’a été donné de participer à travers le monde. Elle fait honneur à la ville de Medellin, à sa population et à ses organisateurs, elle est sans conteste un exemple à suivre dans le monde entier.

Amina Saïd
Tunicia

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War, Poetry and Medellin

While I was packing my bags to leave for Medellin I had many thoughts. I was excited about the trip. I live for poetry and the arts and it was wonderful to represent my country. I had heard wonderful things about Colombia. But I was also a little petrified. Would I get a culture shock? Would I be welcome there? Should I need to worry about the violence in the country?

But things totally changed once I landed in Colombia. Despite the language barrier (most people just speak Spanish) I realized that the people are very friendly. I come from a country where we believe in “athiti devo bhava”- which would mean “our guests are our Gods”. So their hospitality reminded me so much of home.

Medellin is a beautiful city with great climate through out the year. And the people take poetry very seriously. Readings would be held in arenas, halls and libraries and they would be jam-packed with audience. Thousands of people attended the opening and closing of the festival. In the closing ceremony despite the torrential rain, people stayed in the open arena applauding at every poem and poet.

The audience comprised of all ages- right from very small children to senior citizens. It was also wonderful to see the youngsters who made up of more than half of the audience at every reading.

It was obvious that the organizers had a difficult job of getting all the poets to the country, taking care of them, taking care of the venues, taking the poets to the venues and bringing them back to the hotel and making sure that everything went well. And everything did go very well. The Poetry Festival of Medellin was one of the best experiences of my life. It was also wonderful to see a big number of young people who made the organizing team of the festival, very active, very efficient and working day and night.

So how important is The International Poetry Festival of Medellin? Does it help stop the war? Will it help bring peace? How important is the festival to the people of the city and the country? How important is it to the poets?

After my experience in the festival, I realize that the organizers of the festival are now obligated to host the festival every year – not just to themselves and the people of Medellin but to poetry itself. One of the sponsors in her speech mentioned to the thousands attending the opening ceremony that the Poetry Festival of Medellin is the biggest in the world. Surely it is. Never had I seen poetry being celebrated so much.

I found out that the people of Medellin look forward to the annual event very eagerly and now have developed a great taste for poetry and the arts.

The organizers of the festival are obligated to have the festival every year because they have set a fine example for the whole world to see on the beauty and power of poetry. They can not and should not let themselves down.

Can poetry help stop the war? When thousands gather together listening to poetry and sharing beauty and joy, isn’t that helping stop the war? I consider poetry to be the best amalgamation of thoughts, feelings, sentiments and literature. So via poetry people feel, people celebrate, people express and people get inspired. A war is difficult to stop but it is so wonderful to see the people of Medellin lose themselves in the joy of poetry, forgetting all pains during the festival. And then they look forward to another one for a whole year .Among other things poetry is also a healer for them.

As for the poets, we couldn’t ask for anything more. Poets from all over the world living together and sharing culture and poetry were a great experience. Like me I know all of the poets must have left Medellin inspired by the festival, the city of Medellin, the people of Medellin and the power of the their own poetry.

After my poetry reading at Plaza de la Luz on 19th of July, two young girls around fifteen years of age came to me and gave me a letter that read:

“Chirag,

Thank you so much for coming to Medellin. It was really great to have you here. I can see that you have a huge heart, the heart of an artist. Thanks again for sharing it with us. I hope you liked Medellin. Please don’t forget to tell the world that in Colombia there is much more than war and poverty. We have hope and we believe that POETRY can change the world.

Gracias

Marcela and Laura.””

After I read the letter I felt that the objective of The International Poetry Festival of Medellin has been achieved.

Chirag Bangdel
Kathmandu, Nepal.

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Dear Fernando Rendon,

I hope this email finds You well. As representant of the 4th Swiss national language romanch, I was among the participants of the International Festival of Poetry in Medellin in 2001. I returned from this festival enriched by many encounters with inspiring people and with new ideas for my work. In my memory, the Festival remains the most impressing and beautiful literary event I know of. The public was great, enthusiastic and open-minded. I never experienced such sparkling fascination with poetry as in Medellin.

Looking back, I admire as well the perfect organization of the event. I am very glad Fernando Rendon was given the alternative Nobel Prize for his efforts!

Best wishes from Switzerland,

Tresa Rüthers-Seeli
(Switzerland)

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The International Poetry Festival of Medellin: con mucho gusto

When I first received the invitation to take part in the Poetry Festival in Medellin, I was – I must confess – a bit sceptical. I knew that Colombia, and most certainly Medellin, were rapidly shaking their former bad name, but still: was not Colombia a country still very much known for political violence and kidnappings à la Ingrid Betancourt? And was not Medellin a city known for gangs and drugs trafficking à la Pablo Escobar? Someone told me the story of a Belgian young man who had visited Medellin in the early nineties and had had a truly miserable time. At the same time, however, I was curious to see what the present-day reality was behind the clichés and prejudices.

Now, after my return, I can say nothing but wonderful things about Colombia, Medellin and its Poetry Festival. I was impressed to see how large and representative the group of international poets was that took part in the Festival, and I got to know dozens of colleagues from all over the world. A number of them will remain friends forever. The organization itself was flawless, thanks to the young and enthusiastic team assembled by Fernando and Luis Eduardo Rendon. They helped us poets with every little problem we had, and in doing so displayed the cordiality and warmth I got to know as so typically Colombian. We were given the opportunity to read at very different, well-chosen locations, all over Medellin, before large and very responsive audiences. More than ever before in Europe, I was made to feel that it is a privilege to be a poet.

My visit to Medellin was for me also the very first visit to Colombia and even Latin America. It was an overwhelming experience in all respects – because of everything: the people, the food, the habits, traffic, nature, the mountains, the climate,… When I arrived in Medellin, I had not been writing poetry for a few months. I experienced my stay as so impressive and inspiring that I immediately started taking notes again, for what I hope will be a new collection appearing somewhere next year.

Earlier this year, people at the Flemish Literary Fund in Belgium told me that poets taking part in the Medellin Festival came back as different persons. Sceptical as I am, I thought: well, let’s just wait and see. Now, every bit of scepticism has gone. Medellin was truly wonderful! I have taken part in quite a few poetry festivals, but being in Medellin has been the very best experience by far. I very much hope to be back one day.

Erik Spinoy

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Dear Fernando,

The International Poetry Festival of Medellin is unique. It has been very important to me both as a writer and as a person. It was my first experience of Latin America, in 1996, and a revelation to me. I had the opportunity to get together with poets from all over the world in a very special place, where I made lasting friendships and I also formed ideas and impressions that would later emerge in my work. No other Festival in the world has come so close to the Greek idea of Poetics with an audience so dedicated and enthusiastic.

Ersi Sotiropoulos
Grecia

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Dear Fernando Rendon!

I was very honored to be a participant at your festival 2007. I was immensely impressed by the big audiences of your city, listening to the poetry readings with such sincerity.

I will never forget it, and as I hope you noticed, I wrote a double page for a daily (leftist) paper in Oslo (in Norwegian, of course), I sent the festival a copy. And I wrote an even bigger article for a magazine, discussing the role poetry can play in times of distress, the importance poetic words might carry, that we, in our cold part of the world (Northern Europe) might seem to have forgotten. So, your struggle for establishing a poetry festival as a creative power against all destructive forces, is not only important for your country, but for all of us, through the world, so that we shall not forget that there exist words that carry the strength of beauty and truth.

The world would be a much poorer place without you and the Medellin festival.

Ps: You will be invited to a literary festival in the north of Norway (with a stop in Oslo) next year, 2009, that has Violence as its subject, suggested for the festival board by me, inspired by my visit to Medellín. We will come back to you. Ds.

Liv Lundberg
Norway

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Dear Fernando,

I have participated in several poetry festivals all over the world and I can tell you, without equivocation, that the Medellin Poetry Festival is the most memorable one I have ever attended. I would go as far as to say the Medellin poetry festival is probably the best poetry festival in the world. The range of poets from all over the world was very impressive. The accommodation and food was modest but satisfactory and the hospitality great. I was impressed by the efficiency with which everything was done. The translations made the work of the non Spanish speaking poets accessible. The friendly atmosphere that surrounded the events was fantastic. For me, the best thing about the festival was the public support for all the readings, especially the ones held outdoors. I had never seen so many people at poetry readings before or since then.

Long live Medellin Poetry Festival.

Yours fraternally,

Linton Kwesi Johnson
Jamaica

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Defense of the International Poetry Festival of Medellin

When I took part in the XIV International Poetry Festival of Medellin in 2004, I was surprised, how professionally and carefully our meetings, lectures and the whole during of stay were organized, also in Bogota. It was the most beautiful Poetry Festival I ever met.

In spite of the political circumstances which seemed to be rather dangerous I as we before could read in our newspapers in Europe I we felt ourselves safe. We enjoyed the atmosphere of friendship and harmony and the most impressive exchange of views about poetry and life in the diverse continents. I was especially pleased to meet the Columbian poets, the Columbian people, who were so very kind and interested in human society, solidarity and poetry, demonstrating that poetry isn't the privilege of an elite but the environment and natural right of every human being.

I went back to Switzerland with a most positive report of these experiences.

So I hope very much, that the International Poetry Festival of Medellin may further exist and won't be a sacrifice of economies or other motivations.

No other festival could better promote the long way to a world of peace.

July 27th, 2008
Iren Baumann
Poet, Switzerland

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Dear Friends:

As a poet and writer, I want to acknowledge from the depth of my heart that "International Poetry Festival of Medellin" is an exceptional cultural event in whole world! It gives a golden chance to all invited poets to get together, to communicate, to feel each other`s joys and sorrows, rendering the beautiful message of PEACE to global society of mankind.

International Poetry Festival of Medellin, has the most devoted and cultured team, who give the best impression to every poet attending the occasion.

The poets are bestowed ample opportunity to recite their poetry in front of thousands of people who share the message and appreciate regardless of differences in nationalities and languages!

I believe the wonderful people of Colombia would be proud of International Poetry Festival of Medellin.

With Best Regards and Lots of Love,

Nahid Kabiri
Iran

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29 July, 2008

Kia ora and greetings,

My name is Te Kupu. I am a poet from Aotearoa / New Zealand.

In 2001 I attended the International Poetry Festival of Medellín as an invited poet and was most impressed with all aspects of the festival, the poets were very well taken care of and the diverse range of venues and locations spread around the city and beyond was most impressive. I especially liked how the readings varied from street locations, to bars, to invasion neighborhoods, prisons and more.

I feel honored, and it a great privilege to have attended the festival the world is a better place because of the International Poetry Festival of Medellín. The many anti-war sentiments expressed in solidarity with everyday Colombians can only inspire and create an atmosphere which will inspire peace in Colombia.

I have great memories of the people and places, and gained not only a deeper understanding of the turmoil in Colombia, but also developed a love for the people and the land.

The reputation of Colombia as being a dangerous country does not apply to the International Poetry Festival of Medellín. I´m sure that if more people were to attend that a new image of Colombia could emerge. An image filled not with stories of kidnappings and massacres, but an image one can only imagine of - where such things have faded into obscurity.

Te Kupu
Maori, New Zealand

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Dear Fernando and my poet friends in Columbia I am so sorry to hear about the situation here is my defense for the most important poetry festival in the world - i hope you can use it with oceans of joy light and love from Iceland,

Birgitta Jónsdóttir.

Why is the poetry festival in Medellín so special?

I have been blessed to be invited to many poetry festivals around the world. At these festivals I frequently meet other poets who are like me, travelling poets. We discuss the other festivals we have attended in the past. Among those poets from every corner of the world - the festival with the best reputation without a shadow of a doubt is the Medellín festival. Why?

I think it is mostly because of three factors. The festival has from the beginning been able to reach to the people of Medellín, nowhere else in the world do you get to read for so many people, who listen to the poets with honesty and frankness. If they don't like it - they show it and if they like it - they show it. It's very important to get this sort of instant feedback for a poet. Yet it is rare to find it.

The next element that makes up the amazing alchemy of the festival in Medellín is the great insight of the organizers when selecting the poets to attend and how masterfully they weave the threads of basic organizations.

The third element is the sense of importance and respect poetry has in Columbia. What the organizers have managed to do with passion and effort is to bring the poetry to the people and no other festival has managed to do this to the same degree.

I consider without a shadow of a doubt the International poetry festival in Medellín THE most important poetry festival in the world. Being the first poet from Iceland to attend I have been asked by fellow poets from my island if it is save to go - and how it is, and my reply has always been, if you don't go, you will regret it for the rest of your life. Because for the first time in my life I felt in the marrow of my bones - through the people of Medellín how important the dialogue through poetry is.

Unlike many other festivals I have attended - I never felt like a pawn in a political game. Everyone at the festival was there simply because they could hear the murmur between the words - a murmur that offered a bridge between cultures - a murmur of compassion and a silent whisper of a mystery happening in that very moment. I felt the people in Medellín, the people in Columbia hungered for bridges from the horror of a reality of war and political tension - a bridge to the eternal hope of a future free from war - a hope for peace and happiness and festival was something that offered that.

The festival is a great tapestry what has been growing ever since I was there in 1997. I would be a shame beyond words if this festival will no longer be. It would be like losing a dear friend, not only to me but everyone that has ever been part of this unique event.

I have never smiled as much as at this festival - I even found an important thread towards my own personal goal while there and for that I will remain forever thankful.

Birgitta Jónsdóttir
Iceland

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Dear Fernando,

I fully support Medellin Festival. It is the most beautiful and wonderful festival in the world. Never people of a country have so much honored poets and poetry as in Columbia. The Medellin Festival is a symbol of freedom, peace, fraternity and meeting of cultures of the world. I hope that the event which gathers authors from all over the world will continue to exist and that I shall have the opportunity to attend it again. Best regards.

Kama Sywor Kamanda
Congo

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Dear Fernando Rendon

I want to express to you my very great admiration for you personally and for the internationally famous Medellin Poetry Festival, which I had heard about over many years, and which, in 2007, I had the great honor and pleasure of attending as a participating poet. Your festival is admired and, indeed, envied all around the world. It has been a beacon of peace and hope to writers and readers everywhere. Many of the world's most respected poets have read their work there. All of us have been profoundly affected by the love of poetry, the enthusiasm, and the intelligence of the great audiences (many of them young people) your festival attracts; and we have taken away from the experience a sense of inspiration and hope for the future of mankind.

Perhaps I should say, since my name will not necessarily be known by those who read this, that I am a 75-year-old poet, fiction writer and literary critic, my works published in English but also translated into a dozen European languages, and a senior New Zealand writer, one of only two who have received the Order of New Zealand, my country's highest honor. I mention these facts only in the hope of lending weight to my testimony. The world honors you, Fernando Rendón. Yours is a very great international festival. It must survive and continue to flourish.

I send you fraternal greetings from the South Pacific.

Yours sincerely,

Christian Karlson Stead
New Zealand

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The Festival is an inspiration to Colombia and to the world. I would like to see its detractors doing as good a job! The Festival has inspired other festivals - and I have seen organizers in Costa Rica, for instance, with the same selfless spirit, sending poets to schools, prisons and hospitals.

Viva Medellín! The Festival is good for poets, for poetry and for the audiences. The Festival knows that poetry is necessary to the life-blood of a nation and her people; poetry can be a universal voice singing the dignity and the mystery of being. Poetry is a spiritual necessity. Viva Medellín! Viva la poesía! Viva la paz!

Gabriel Rosenstock
Ireland

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In 2007, when I told people I was going to Colombia, some looked at me with something like shock. When I said I was going to Medellin, those who were my friends warned me to be careful. When I said I was going to a poetry festival, many were frankly amused. Some asked if I knew what Colombia and Medellin, stood for. The only words they could think of, some told me very frankly, were “cartel” and “drugs”.

Then when I got back from Colombia and talked endlessly about the beauty and wonder of a poetry festival that attracted thousands of people, anxiously absorbing the words of poetry, my friends were frankly amazed. I told them to check the website, and they could not understand it. Why don’t we hear about that? About Medellin as a poetry capital? Some asked the question with a kind of wonder. And so the International Poetry Festival at Medellin became a good-news-about-Colombia factor, an inadvertent tool of tourism, spreading the world that there was a strong intellectual current in Colombia, a deep love of the literary, a current that pulled literature to its origins with the poetic vision of Homer, with the international currents of orature and the vision of societal transformation through the word. Just a few weeks ago, I, as an English and Creole-speaking person, was in conversation with someone from Panama and we discovered that one major excitement we shared was our knowledge of the Medellin poetry festival.

I know that no-one could want the International Poetry Festival at Medellin stopped. Whatever one’s political or other opinion, it has to be clear that the Festival is good publicity for Medellin. Keep it going! It’s a superior Colombian product. Thanks for having given me the opportunity to experience it! I look forward to being there again one day!

Merle Collins
Granada

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Dear Fernando Rendon,

I was an invited participant in the International Poetry Festival of Medellin in 2007. I am a poet, musician and travel internationally to perform poetry and music. This festival was one of the highlights of my life. The festival embraced the world of poetry. We were from every continent, many countries from all over the globe. Through the many events you set up we performed and interacted with many groups of Columbian society. I tell many stories when I travel of my experience there. I tell of the hospitality of the Columbian people. I tell of how the people love poetry, and how the love of poetry marks a developed society. I always end with the final reading, over six hours, everyone on stage, and the huge, enthusiastic audience and how the rains came to bless us. I will never forget standing and performing with other indigenous poets. That moment feeds my heart.

Muchas gracious

Joy Harjo
Mvskoke Nation, poet and musician

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Internationales Poesiefestival Medellin 2008

Dass der Schlussabend des Festivals im Teatro Carlos Vieco auch im Fernsehen gezeigt wurde, erfuhr ich erst von einem Kellner, der sich an meine kurze Lesung erinnerte.

Verrückt denkt man da: vier Stunden Poesie live im Fernsehen und jemand schaut sich das an. Undenkbar in Europa, undenkbar anderswo. Denkt man. Hier nicht. Verrückt ist das. Verrückt ist überhaupt das Wort, das man im Zusammenhang mit Medellin immer wieder verwendet. Medellin ist, wie es Bas Kwakman vom Rotterdamer Festival in einem Interview mit einer Medelliner Zeitung gesagt hat, das wichtigste und grösste Festival, das es gibt.

Und das in mehrerer Hinsicht. Zunächst ist da das Publikum. Ein riesiges Publikum, nicht nur bei den beiden Grossereignissen am Anfang und Ende des Festivals. Auch zu den übrigen Veranstaltungen kamen immer zwischen 100 und 300 Leute. Sicher ist der Schlussabend ein besonderes Erlebnis. Wer liest schon vor Tausenden Gedichte. Wo hören schon Tausende einem Dichter zu. Und das sechs Stunden lang. Und das aufmerksam, schreiend und lachend. Und das am ersten Samstag auch im Regen.

Sechs Stunden Poesie. Verrückt. Und zuletzt lasen der 88-jährigen Marcos Ana aus Spanien und Bernard Noel aus Frankreich.

Gross ist das Festival auch, weil über 50 Dichter eingeladen werden. Und sie kommen von weit her, von bisweilen sehr weit her. Das macht das Festival tatsächlich zu einem internationalen Ereignis. Und die lokale Bevölkerung, die fast nur Spanisch spricht, bekommt Sprachen zu hören, die ihr das Gefühl gibt, für eine Woche nicht in der Provinz zu leben. Zumal sich kaum jemand von den vielen jungen Leuten irgendwelche Reisen zu kulturellen Anlässen leisten kann.

Die Organisation eines solchen Festivals ist eine Herausforderung. Da sind die Zeitpläne, die Transporte, die Übersetzungen, Übersetzer, Interpreten. Da ist die Unterkunft, die Verpflegung. Da sind die zusätzlichen Reisen, die Finanzen, das Unvorhergesehene. All dies wird auf bewundernswerte Weise diskret und effizient gehandhabt. Nicht nur von der Festivalleitung, sondern vor allem auch von den unzähligen Helferinnen und Helfern. Zumeist Studenten, die sich etwas dazuverdienen können. Man hat zudem das Gefühl, dass sich immer jemand persönlich um einen kümmert. ( Und Dienstag abend wurde ich von drei wohlhabenden Zahnärzten zum Abendessen eingeladen. Sie unterstützen das Festival. Und sie wollen jedes Jahr mit drei Dichtern einen Abend verbringen.)

Wichtig ist das Festival auch deshalb, weil es eine ganze Woche dauert. Man hat die Gelegenheit, sich tatsächlich kennenzulernen und auszutauschen. Das Hotel wird sozusagen zum Konferenzzentrum, zu einem Ort, wo zukünftige Projekte besprochen und vorgestellt werden. Man isst zusammen, man liest zusammen und feiert zusammen. Man hat Zeit. Daraus ergibt sich etwas. Man wird sehen.

Und wichtig ist das Festival für die Stadt Medellin. Der Bürgermeister unterstützt es, der Staatspräsident möchte die Förderung einstellen lassen. Das ist die Realität. El Mundo druckte gleich am ersten Samstag einen polemischen Artikel eines lokalen Dichters, in dem dieser behauptet, die Festivalleitung stünde der Farc nahe. Die Dichter würden abends in ihren Zimmern von sogenannten Terroristen besucht, die ihnen die Anliegen der Farc näherbringen würden. Wie auch immer. Drei Stunden dauerte die Diskussion am Sonntag, ob und wie man auf diesen Artikel reagieren sollte.

Vor sieben Jahren sagte mir Gerhard Falkner, durften die Dichter nicht mal das Hotel verlassen. Draussen war die Hölle los. Viel zu gefährlich. Jeder bestätigt einem das. Obwohl man es kaum glauben kann. Denn der Eindruck, den man heute hat, ist ein ganz anderer: Normalität. Man sieht zwar allenthalben Polizei. Sehr viel Polizei. Aber ansonsten ist es erstaunlich ruhig.

Die Stadt hat sich verändert, sehr verändert. In den schwierigen, vernachlässigten Armenvierteln der 4 Millionenstadt wurden Bibliotheken gebaut. Sie wirken wie Oasen. Dazu wurde die Infrastruktur verbessert. Man fühlt sich sicher. Man darf aber nicht vergessen, dass die Distanz zwischen Arm und Reich sozusagen unendlich geworden ist.

Neben den sechs Lesungen an verschiedenen Orten in Medellin, las ich noch in Bogota, in der Casa de Poesia Silva, und in Andes und Apartado. Das macht neun Lesungen. Man könnte sich wichtig vorkommen. Kolumbien gibt einem auch dieses Gefühl.

Apartado war ein Schock. Man fliegt von der Hochebene Medellins mit dem Flieger in einer halben Stunde Flugzeit in die Tropen. 41 Grad. Die Karibik ist 40 Kilometer entfernt. Es ist die Region der Bananen. Kolumbien ist die Nummer zwei hinter Brasilien was Bananen angeht. Während der Lesungen auf dem Hauptplatz der Stadt gab es ein Gewitter. Die etwa zweihundert Zuhörer blieben. Man stellte sich unter und lauschte weiter. Davor, am Nachmittag, beantworteten wir in der Stadtbibliothek während zwei Stunden Fragen. Es ging um das Verhältnis von Politik und Poesie. Es ging nur darum. Es geht bei diesem Festival sehr viel um Politik. Es ist in dieser Hinsicht natürlich eine Ausnahme – jedenfalls für einen Europäer. Der Konflikt im Land dauert nun schon 40 Jahre.

Im Gegensatz zur Reise nach Apartado war der Weg nach Andes, einer Kleinstadt in den Bergen, ein Alptraum. Die Berge in Kolumbien sind steil. Grün und lehmig. Mehrere Erdrutsche machten aus einer Fahrt von zwei Stunden eine Odyssee von jeweils 6 Stunden sowohl bei der Hin- wie auch bei der Rückfahrt. Wir lasen zu dritt. Und wir lasen auf Wunsch des Publikums jeder noch einmal einige Gedichte.

In Bogota, im wunderbaren Haus der Casa Silva standen die Zuhörer bis in die Laubengänge, ohne etwas von der Bühne sehen zu könnnen. Schon hier spürte ich, dass Poesie bewegt. Sie teilt sich in Kolumbien scheinbar noch mit, bevor sie verstanden wird. Es ist ein beteiligtes, offenes Hören. Das spürt man auch bei den Reaktionen.

Ich danke der Pro Helvetia, dass ich am Poesiefestival von Medellin habe teilnehmen dürfen.

Armin Senser
Suiza, Juli 2008

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La Colombie de ma couleur

Ma Colombie aussi belle que fragile
Ma Colombie forte et fragile à la fois
Mes belles montagnes de Medellin
Aux plaines et habitants adorables

Ces autres que je rencontre sur les routes
Tous ceux-là vers un but inconnu
Comme ces pauvres sans domicile
Dans un pays dégoulinant de ressources

La misère et la richesse se côtoient
Comme des frères ennemis à jamais
Ces regards éteints de souffrances
Tous ces yeux me racontent l’histoire

Les véhicules me la confirment
Ces visages aux couleurs multiples
La seule identité étant sa culture
La poésie est pour tous un espoir

Cet espoir aussi fragile
Malgré l’entretien sans relâche
Ceux qui tiennent à sa sauvegarde
Les forces négatives veulent les faire taire
Et tous les moyens sont bons,

Oh! Rwanda, mon bien aimé
Peux-tu être un bon exemple
À ce pays, qui te ressemble
Dans la souffrance et la violence

Si tu as pu t’en sortir Seule la culture fut ta porte de sortie
Transmets ta sagesse à ma Colombie adorée
Viens au secours de nos semblables

Le festival international de la poésie
Cette arme paisible contre la violence
Je rêve de te la montrer l’année prochaine
Pour augmenter ta chance de survie
Ainsi nous vivrons comme des frères

Les souffrances sont immenses
Les populations pauvres et désespérées
Mais les jeunes restent courageux
Le seul espoir de cette Colombie

Si tu les avais vus, Rwanda mon bien aimé
L’espoir en eux est encourageant
Des milliers pour vivre la poésie
S’y investissent sans relâche

Ils savent ce qu’ils subissent
Mais rien ni personne
Ne pourra arrêter leur énergie
Ni les faire contraindre au silence

Ils sont des milliers dans ce théâtre
                               Ce théâtre à ciel ouvert jusque tard dans la nuit
Ils avalent les poèmes comme une source intarissable
Comme de l’eau descendant dans une gorge assoiffée.

Les voix aussi chantantes les unes que les autres
Les langues différentes ne leur font pas peur
Car la langue et la voix de la poésie
Sont entendues par les oreilles du coeur
Les nuages noirs ne font peur à personne
Le vent qui souffle dans ces feuilles d’arbres
Ajoutent une touché à chaque musique poétique
Et les gouttes de pluie viennent unir nos coeurs d’hommes

Quel moment idyllique de ce cinq juillet
Le jour de la libération de mon Rwanda, mon amour
Tout est fête pour les Rwandais partout dans le monde
Seuls nos assassins boudent la fête.

Moi je fête à Medellin en Colombie
Moi qui n’ai plus d’enfant, j’ai des milliers
Ils m’acclament et je rendent heureuse
Ils m’embellissent malgré mon Coeur qui saigne
Mais il est aussi joyeux ce soir en Colombie

Mon Rwanda est dans mon coeur et ma voix
Mon Rwanda est dans mes yeux brillants de bonheur
Mon Rwanda est toujours dans mon esprit
Mon Rwanda chéri et meurtri

Notre arme paisible qu’est la culture
Ma Colombie m’aide à célébrer son bonheur
Cette Colombie me rappelle mon passé,
Mais le festival me donne de l’espoir

Cet espoir que je souhaite à ce pays
Pour toutes ces mères au Coeur meurtris
Qui vivent encore la disparition de leurs enfants
Aux coeurs à jamais gonflés de désespoir

Vive le festival de Medellin
Vive l’espoir et à la Paix en Colombie
Que ce festival soit pour le peuple un point d’appui.

Yolande Mukagasana
Rescapée du génocide des Tutsi au Rwanda

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Dear Friends ! The international Poetry Festival of Medellin is the greatest event in my poetry life. All those poets comming from everywhere and great poetry allways around me.I am very grateful to have been a part in the poetry festival of Medellin. This poetry festival is fantastic. All the best,

Hanne Aga
Norway

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Message of Thanks and Support for the Medellin International Poetry Festival

Warm greetings from the Philippines to Director Fernando Rendon, Program Coordinator Luis Eduardo Rendon, and everyone who have worked hard to make the XVIII Medellin International Poetry Festival a memorable feast of words and an affirmative gathering of people for the enjoyment of poetry and the related arts in spaces of freedom and peace.

Having been part of this celebration of the deeper aspirations of humanity through the written and spoken word, I strongly affirm that the vision of Fernando Rendon to make the international poetry festival a way of nurturing the work for an honorable peace in Colombia, is one that deserves to be emulated by leaders and workers of cultural movements all over the world. This high purpose is a shared vision, and just as Colombians are proud of the Medellin international poetry festival, the poets who participated in the XVIII edition of the festival feel and know that they have a stake in its continued growth, and will certainly protect its poetic legacy to the peace-loving peoples of Colombia and the rest of the world.

The festival at its 18th year has come of age, and its power of moving forward from strength to strength, involving more and more poets and artists, and inspiring people from various communities, is its best reason for being. I have personally been deeply touched by the impressive quality of the audiences in Medellin and Tunja, their warm and sincere response to the power of poetry, and their genuine love for poets as companions in the human task of bringing peace to our individual and communal lives.

Thus, I can say that the recent attacks on the integrity of the festival and its leaders and organizers are false and irresponsible, and have put into unnecessary danger one of the precious creations of the human spirit. As a citizen of the world of poetry, I commit my support to the Medellin International Poetry Festival so that it will continue to give light and sweetness to the world that is often in the dark and bitterly at odds with the dreams of peace of many peoples.

Mabuhay ang Medellin International Poetry Festival!
Long live the Medellin International Poetry Festival!

By Marjorie Evasco
Philippines

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Received messages from participating poets

XIV International Poetry Festival of Medellín

XV International Poetry Festival of Medellín

XVI International Poetry Festival of Medellín

XVII International Poetry Festival of Medellín

XVIII International Poetry Festival of Medellín

For the 2006 Alternative Nobel Prize

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