Festival Internacional de Poesía de Medellín. Poetry reading
Date: Sunday, July 6, 2025
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Venue: Fifth floor
Free admission
After World War II, we have witnessed very few political scenarios as close to a new world war, whose capacity for annihilation of life on Earth would be total. To the atomic bomb that killed hundreds of thousands of lives in Hiroshima and Nagasaki is added an enormous nuclear arsenal that would shatter the planet. How can we be indifferent to our own end? The process of destruction of nature advances in geometric progression relative to the measures taken to mitigate the predatory impact of transnational corporations. The tension reaches extremes and the world seems to accept with sad resignation the total threat.
Poetry reminds everyone of the origin and the marvelous meaning of life in its radiant manifestations. From the joyful days when human beings lovingly created a living language, a name for each animal, a sign for each living being, to our days, when words are expelled by hatred and the impulse of extermination, enough millennia have passed to unfold within us a clear awareness of the moment we live. We call war the two centuries of armed conflicts in our country and we also name war the conflagration between civilizations and nations that have been established on earth since the beginning of the world. We call class struggle the inevitable confrontations between forces of human society that seek to establish the primacy of their interests.
Poetry calls us to evoke our roots, the atmosphere of splendor of nature, the profound spiritual unity of primitive peoples, the primordial meaning of belonging to the powerful collective energy, to the intelligence of human life that inhabited the forests and the banks of rivers in harmony with the spirit of existence.
Poetry evokes the remote times of the beginning and calls us to recover our original condition. The Medellín International Poetry Festival stands firm in its purpose, after 35 years of existence. Established in the city against the extreme forms of violence and war, it has constituted a refuge for the population and a powerful nourishment for their consciousness and sensitivity, a paradigm of dialogue between the poetic traditions of the world and expressions of cultural diversity. Between July 5 and 12, it will revive its fraternal ritual, to reaffirm the city’s vocation for life and peace, the reincarnated dream of poetic justice and brotherhood among the peoples of the earth. On Sunday, July 6, we will be one of the venues for this fundamental event for the city.
Program
3:00 p.m. Young Latin American women poets. Poetry reading
Born in Tosagu, he is a pure chemistry student. In 2010, he won public funding from the Ministry of Culture to work in rural areas of the province of Manabí. In 2013, he worked as a production assistant and still photographer on the film La vida sigue, a pesar de cabos sueltos y tantas cosas sin sentido, strengthening his artistic experience in the audiovisual field. In 2022, he debuted with his book Vértigo, a hybrid of poems and short stories presented at the Festival de Literatura y Artes de Girardot, Colombia. He currently works on the re-edition and launch of his novella Alma y el canto de la serpiente (2024).
Born in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. She explores various arts and practices multiple crafts. Among her favorites are poetry and photography. She received the National New Writers Award from the Cámara del Libro de Santa Cruz in 2017 for her book Luminiscencia. She has published Luminiscencia (2017, Editorial 3600 and 2017, Editorial Llamarada Verde) and Maneras de parar el mundo (2021, El Ángel Editor and 2022, Editorial Llamarada Verde). She completed the Creative Writing Diploma at UPSA and, since 2010, has participated in the Taller y Editorial de Poesía Llamarada Verde.
She studied Hispanic Literature at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú and holds a master’s degree in Medieval Studies from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. She was a finalist in the Adonáis poetry competition in 2019 and received honorable mention in the El Poeta Joven del Perú competition in 2017 and 2020. In March 2025, she completed a writing residency at Villa Valmont in Bordeaux, France.
Ismaray Pozo Quiñones was born in Puerta de Golpe, Cuba, in 1987. She graduated in Art History from the University of Havana. She completed the 18th Narrative Techniques Course at the Centro Onelio Jorge Cardoso in 2016. She has published the books Regresiones (2017); Abisales (2018) and La Recitante (2019). Some of the awards she has received include: Luis Rogelio Nogueras Prize 2018; Finalist in the 1st Hypermedia Poetry Prize 2019 with the book Mapas neuronales; Revista Gaceta Prize, Revista Prometeo Prize 2025.
5:00 p.m. Asian poets. Poetry reading*
Poet, translator, literary critic, editor and cultural activist. He has published seven poetry collections in Bengali. He has been awarded, among others, the Chinggish Khaan Gold Medal, the Heaven Horse Prize, the Numera World Literature Prize, and the Golden Knight Prize.
He graduated as a Pharmacist. He is currently considered one of the best-known poets abroad from Bangladesh. He has published seven poetry collections in Bengali. His work has been translated into more than twenty-five languages and he has poetry books in English, Spanish, German, Japanese, Mongolian, Arabic, Chinese, Bahasa Malay, Russian, Serbian and French. He is a renowned art writer and critic and has three prose books to his name. As a translator, he has translated twelve poetry books and has edited several poetry magazines and books, including the SAARC Anthology of Poems and Stories, The Dhaka Review, etc.
He is a poet and visual artist. Born in Quyang County, Hebei Province. He holds a doctorate in literature from the Nanjing University of the Arts. He currently serves as editor-in-chief of ArtsBj.com; researcher at the National Academy of Arts of China; president of the Nanjing University of the Arts; director of the Chinese Institute of Innovative Ink and Wash Painting; consultant of the Hebei Chinese Painting Research Association; visiting professor at Hebei University. He is also a visiting researcher at the Saint Said Art Center (United States); chief researcher at the Toyo Fine Arts Institute in Japan; and president of the International Planning Commissioner for the Nagoya Art Festival (Japan).
He is also a visiting professor of the One Asia Foundation course in the SIIM research program at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain).
She is a poet, translator, editor, and journalist. In 1993, she graduated from the Faculty of Journalism at Tashkent State University. In 2003, she completed the Advanced Course in Literature at the Faculty of Uzbek Philology at the National University of Uzbekistan. In 2004, she was awarded the Medal of Fame. Since 2015, she has been the editor-in-chief of the most influential newspaper, Kitob Dunyosi (World of Books).
She belongs to the Writers’ Union of Uzbekistan, the Journalists’ Union of Azerbaijan, and the writers’ association of that country. She was a resident of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa in 2021. She received the international Mikail Mushfeek Prize, Azerbaijan, 2015; the Rasul RIZO Prize, Azerbaijan, 2021; the Naji Naaman International Prize, 2021; and the Golden Knight Prize, 2021.
Her poems have been translated into more than 30 languages and her books published in several foreign countries. Some of her poetry collections: Casa en el cielo, 1997; Salvación, 2003; Manto, 2004; Días sin mañana, 2006; El muro, 2006; Los días sin mañana, 2008; Conquista, 2011; Años olvidados, 2014; Nubes desenfrenadas, 2019; Lágrimas de colores, 2020; Sombras errantes, 2021; Estrella en la palma de mi mano (Ukraine, 2021), etc. She has translated into Uzbek works by Marina Tsvetaeva, Anna Akhmatova, Boris Pasternak, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, among other notable authors.
Born in Al-Kufa, a city on the banks of the Euphrates River, Iraq, in 1955. He is a poet, narrator, and journalist. His voice has been considered one of the most original of the generation of Iraqi poets of the 1980s. He belongs to the Arab and Iraqi Writers’ Union, the Arab and Iraqi Journalists’ Union, the International Organization of Journalists, and the Swedish Writers’ Union.
Some of his published books: She Waits for Me Under the Statue of Liberty, 1984; Songs on the Bridge of Kufa, 1986; Birds Don’t Love Bullets, 1986; Sky in a Helmet, 1988; Mirrors for Her Long Hair, 1992; Glue Cloud, 1993; Under a Strange Sky, 1994; Formations, 1996; The Hymn of Uruk, 1996; A Scream as Big as a Homeland, 1998; Embracing My Exile, 2001; Pages from the Biography of an Exile, 2016; Let Me Tell You What I Saw (bilingual English/Arabic edition of major sections of the renowned epic poem The Hymn of Uruk), 2020; The Dice of the Text, 2022; and Sparks… of You, 2024.
His poetry is characterized by an intense passion for freedom, love, and beauty. A human rights defender, in 1993, his criticism of oppression and injustice led him to exile in Jordan and Lebanon. After being sentenced to death in Iraq in 1996, due to the publication of “The Hymn of Uruk,” he obtained refuge in Sweden. Since 2004, he has resided in London.
His poetry has been translated into English, Dutch, Persian, Kurdish, Spanish, German, French, among other languages. He has also resided in Jordan, Yemen, Sudan, and Syria. He has received several international prizes, among them the Hellman-Hammet International Poetry Prize (New York, 1996); the International Poetry Prize of Rotterdam, 1997; and the Swedish Writers’ Association Prize, 2005.
7:00 p.m. Arab poets. Poetry reading*
She is a poet, narrator, children’s writer, teacher, producer and presenter of several television and radio programs, interviewer and announcer, with an extensive career in the media in her country. She also holds a master’s degree in Philosophy and a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education.
She has published the poetry books: Ya eres mío, sé libre; En el primer puerto; Sólo insomnio; Manicomio; Hipnosis; Todo esto está ante ti; and Psicosis, as well as the children’s books: Adán y el sueño; Sumsum dentro del vientre de mamá; Tengo dos casas en lugar de una; ¿Qué es lo que amo?; Sueño con un mundo; Así es como me amo, among others.
Her poems and stories have been included in various publications throughout the Arab world. She has participated in numerous international poetry festivals in Lebanon, in several Arab countries and in Europe. She belongs to the Lebanese Writers’ Association and the Lebanese Publishers’ Corporation.
He obtained a bachelor’s degree in Arabic Literature from Cairo University in 2009. Since then, he has been active in the fields of poetry, writing, and journalism. Residing in Turkey for several years, his work as a poet, literary translator, and cultural researcher illuminates the nuanced dialogues between these rich traditions.
Zakaria’s literary prowess was first showcased in his debut poetry book, Dialectics, published in 2009. His talent was further recognized when he received the Mahmoud Darwish Museum Poetry Prize in 2015. His second book, What I Couldn’t Tell Anyone in Another Language, 2023, delves into the complexities of communication and emotional expression across linguistic borders.
Zakaria’s commitment to cultural exchange extends beyond poetry. Together with Turkish Arabist Melak Deniz Özdemir, he has translated several Turkish literary works into Arabic. Their collaborative efforts also earned them the Ibn Battuta Travel Literature Prize (2020-2021) for their translation of The World Is a Big Pot and I Am a Ladle… A Journey Through Egypt and Iraq, by Aziz Nesin, marking a significant achievement in the field of travel writing translation.
An Iraqi poet and writer who has lived most of his life in Kuwait. He works as editor-in-chief at Takween publishing house. This particular geographic and cultural context makes him an important bridge for understanding the cultural interaction between Iraq and Kuwait, representing the experience of an entire Arab generation influenced by life in exile or in the diaspora within the same region. In 2015, he published his first poetry collection titled A Door That Looks into My Eyes, marking his entry into the Arab poetic scene. And in 2019, he released his poetry book The Escape of the Wind from the Cities of Stone.
That same year, he also published his children’s storybook Everything Will Be Fine, in Beirut. His poems interweave the duality between exile and belonging, between the homeland in memory and lived reality, which gives his texts a profoundly existential and emotional character. He has managed to offer a different poetic voice by raising questions about identity and uprooting, establishing himself as one of the Arab poetic voices that deserve to be explored to understand the experiences of cultural interaction between exile and home.
Born in Jerusalem, Palestine, on June 23, 1973. He is a poet, essayist, university professor, literary critic, and editor. He completed his studies in Arabic Literature at Birzeit University, where he also obtained his master’s degree in Contemporary Arab Studies. He is the head of editing for the journal The Poets, published by the Palestinian House of Poetry, chief editor of the journal Aqwas, which brings together young voices, and also chief editor of the Prisoners’ Journal. He is currently the Secretary General of the General Union of Palestinian Writers and Literati, and Vice President of the International Book Association in Russia for Arab, African, and Latin American Relations, which brings together 54 Writers’ Unions in Russia and the world. For 10 years, he chaired the Palestinian House of Poetry and was Secretary General of the Palestinian National Committee for Education and Culture. His published poetry includes: Ragbot; Signs of the Narcissus (2002, al-zehira); The Morning of the Pothole; The Lamp at the Heights; and The Place of the Deer. In literary criticism, he has published: I Am the One Who Has Seen (articles on Palestinian culture, 2009). He is the recipient of the Martín Secoro International Poetry Prize, Italy, 2017. He is a member of the Central Council of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
*With online streaming