The fifth edition of the POETEKA International Festival of Poetry, winner of the 2009 Cult Academy Award as “The Best Cultural Event of The Year” will take place on September 21st -28th in different cities in Albania such as Durr쳬 Elbasan, Berat and Tirana. This year’s edition welcomes poets from 20 different countries. The numerous activities that will take place during the fifth edition, besides focusing on authors and personalities of poetic art from the region and beyond, will offer a wider space to the guest poets. Apart from Durr쳬 Berat and Tirana, which are already common places for the Festival’s poetic recitals, this year Poeteka will be present in Elbasan as well.
The first meeting will be dedicated to the Polish poet Czeslaw Milosz, in occasion of the fifth anniversary of his death. The Albanian readers know Milosz from his well-known “The Captive Mind” but organizers of Poeteka will publish another book of his “City without a Name”.
Except for its well known program activities such as authors’ readings, interviews, conversations with invited guests and poets, poetical performances, book presentations, concertos, art exhibitions and a poetic book fair, this year’s Festival shall also include:
Three special evenings, with the main theme: BALCONY – BALKAN
These evenings are conceived to be events that combine readings in the native language by 12 different Balkan authors that are invited to the Festival and conversations with the public regarding three principal themes: BalkanŠ- Europe’s Peter Pan; How to cry and sing ‘for the neighbor’ ; Balkan’s Future: through cemeteries to beaches. The regional music, traditional elements of art and ethnography along with the interesting panel moderations by prominent figures of art and media, will be the elements that will accompany these evenings. Some of the very distinguished names who participate in the realization of these evenings include: Ales Debeljak (Slovenia), Fatos Lubonja (Albania), Tomislav Bilosni砨Croatia), Edi Shukriu (Kosova), Jovan Nikolaidis (Montenegro), Kim Mehmeti and Bogumil Gjyzel (the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), Onur Caymaz (Turkey), Cvetanka Elenkova (Bulgaria), and many others. New elements in the format of this edition of POETEKA Festival would be the two innovative performances, the sound poetry and visual poetry. At this point, POETEKA organizes two Master Classes in order to introduce these new elements of poetic performance, quite absent in Albania, and encourage their presence in the poetical environments. The Master Classes will be introduced for the Albanian audience by Demosthenes Agrafiotis (visual poetry, Greece) and Americo Rodrigues (sound poetry, Portugal). Also, the program of Poeteka Festival involves two exhibitions; Manuscripts – by D. Agrafiotis; Masks and Faces – T. Bilosni绠Concertos, autograph sessions, tourist itinerary at Onufri’s Church in Shelcan and the City Castle in Elbasan, visits in the Onufri Museum and in the Great Masjid of Berat, visit in the Ethnographic Museum, Amphitheater and Venetian Tower in Durr쳬 etc. Other important activities that will take place at the Festival include:
1. The SPIRITUS – AD HONOREM Session, dedicated to the great Polish Poet Ceszlaw Milosz, Nobel Prize Winner, in his 5th obit. Promotion of the book “No Name City” will be presented by Jaroslaw Mikolajewski, Poland.
2. Book promotion -“Amber Bears” – relationships among neighbors, by Jovan Nikolaidis.
3. Special attention at the Festival is dedicated to the session entitled “An American at the court of King Monun” – coffee, reading and interview with the American poet, Tom Sleigh.
2. Rock & read – literary evening with the distinguished Lebanese poetess, Joumana Haddad.
POETEKA began as a cultural initiative in Durres in Sept. 2004 under the symbol of a Liburn栨Illyrian boat) decorated with sails full of written poems and mosaics, as a mark of the potential of Albania to export cultural values. Poeteka aims to promote the new perception of the authors’ reading of poetry instead of the routine actors’ recital.
This valuable tradition has paved the way towards the first International Poetry Festival – (POETEKA- A home for Poetry, April, 2005) based not only on the successful impact and support it had into the cultural circles of the region and beyond, but also as a call for a larger approach into the cultural and artistic life and the values it transmits, values which are admitted to bring a colorful variety within the human dimensions. To date, four editions of Poeteka Festival have been successfully held, with the presence of more than 200 distinguished poets and writers from more than 20 European and other countries world wide. The participating poets will compete with their works for the four Awards that POETEKA presents each year:
AWARDS
1. LIBURNA Award (awarded to an Albanian poet for his/her lifetime work and contribution in the fields of poetry and literature.)
2. NOSITI Award (awarded to the best poetical translation of the year).
3. KRITERION Award (awarded to a literary edition for its distinguished contribution in the interests of art and culture).
4. POETEKA RING Award (awarded to the most prominent figure of the POETEKA Festival).
5. PEN of Berat Prize (Literary Prize that is awarded for the first time by Berat’s City Hall in co-operation with POETEKA Review).
Participants of Festival
PARTICIPANTS
Ales Debjelak (Slovenia)
Americo Rodrigues (Portugal)
Bougmil Gjyzel (FYROM)
Cvetanka Elenkova (Bulgaria)
Dimostenes Agrafiotis (Greece)
Edi Shukriu (Kosova)
Joumana Haddad (Lebanon)
Jovan Nikolaidis (Montenegro)
Kim Mehmeti (FYROM)
Onur Caymaz (Turkey)
Saۡ Ili砨Serbia)
Ali Podrimja (Kosova)
Francis Chenot (Belgium)
Jaroslaw Mikolajewski (Poland)
Tom Sleigh (USA)
From Albania:
Xhevahir Spahiu
Zija ȥla (Moderator)
Rudolf Marku
Besnik Mustafaj
Balil Gjini (Moderator)
Entela Kasi
Ermir Nika
Agron Tufa
Parid Teferi詍
Arian Leka
Iliriana Sulkuqi
Erion Kristo (Moderator)
Bardhyl Londo
Pre硚ogaj
Mimoza Ahmeti
Silvana Leka
Feride Papleka
Ruzhdi Gole
Aleksand철ȩpa
Natasha Bega
Viola Isufaj
Flora Dervishi
Granit Zela
Milianov Kallupi
Gladiola Busulla
Ledia Dushi
