INTERNATIONAL POETRY FESTIVAL "PAGE BREAK"

APRIL 24 - 27 / 2024

No 24. līdz 27. aprīlim Jelgavā notiks 3. Starptautiskais dzejas festivāls “PAGE BREAK”, pulcējot starptautiskajā dzejas apritē aktuālus un pazīstamus autorus, kā arī īpaši uzsverot kultūru dažādību.

Festivāls piedāvās unikālu iespēju Latvijas dzejas interesentiem iepazīt dažādu tautību autorus – Jelgavā viesosies somāliešu izcelsmes dzejniece Lubi Barre no ASV, afgāņu dzejnieks Ramins Mažars, irāņu izcelsmes dzejniece Šolē Volpē no ASV, kā arī ASV rezidējošais dzejnieks Andrē Nafiss-Sahilijs, kuram ir irāņu un itāļu saknes.  

Līdztekus Eiropas dzeju pārstāvēs Katarīna Šultensa no Vācijas, Nikola Madžirovs no Maķedonijas, Austa Fanija Sīgurdardotira no Islandes, Pjērs Venklērs no Francijas, Marija Anhelesa Peresa-Lopesa no Spānijas, Selatahīns Joldigens no Turcijas un Susinukke Kosola no Somijas.

Festivālā piedalīsies trīs autori no Latvijas – Jeļena Glazova, Guntars Godiņš un Kārlis Vērdiņš.

Ņemot vērā ģeopolitiskās un sabiedriskās norises, kā arī vardarbības aktualitāti Latvijā un pasaulē, festivāla tēma būs “empātija”, tādejādi ar dzejas un kultūras palīdzību mudinot vairot šīs vērtības apziņu un nozīmīgumu.

Festivāla programmā gaidāma dzejas pastaiga pilsētvidē, dzejas lasījumi Jelgavas Kultūras namā, apaļā galda diskusija, autoru vizītes Jelgavas skolās un noslēguma dzejkoncerts, piedaloties visiem festivāla viesiem.

Festivāla ietvaros tiks izdota festivāla dzejas antoloģija ar visu autoru darbiem un to tulkojumiem latviešu valodā. Šis izdevums būs pieejams bez maksas visiem interesentiem festivāla pasākumos.

“PAGE BREAK” tradīcija tika iedibināta 2022. gadā, pirmo reizi Latvijā sarīkojot starptautisku dzejas notikumu, kas vienkopus pulcēja starptautiski pazīstamus dzejniekus.

Plašāka informācija par  festivālu pieejama mājaslapā www.pagebreak.lv, kā arī festivāla kontā sociālās saziņas vietnē Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pagebreakfestival.

Trešo Starptautisko dzejas festivālu “PAGE BREAK” rīko biedrība “I DID IT” sadarbībā ar Jelgavas valstspilsētu un pašvaldības iestādi “Kultūra”, atbalsta Valsts kultūrkapitāla fonds, Ziemeļu Ministru padomes birojs Latvijā, Francijas institūts Latvijā, Spānijas vēstniecība Latvijā un Jelgavas tipogrāfija.

Pasākuma laikā tiks veikta fotografēšana un filmēšana

Iegūtie materiāli tiks izmantoti pasākuma atspoguļošanai un popularizēšanai organizatora tīmekļa vietnē un sociālos tīklos, kā arī publicitātes materiālu veidošanai nodrošinot sabiedrības informēšanu par organizētajiem pasākumiem sabiedrības interesēs

Poets 2024

André Naffis-Sahely | Italy/ Iran

André Naffis-Sahely is the author of two collections of poetry, The Promised Land: Poems from Itinerant Life (Penguin UK, 2017) and High Desert (Bloodaxe Books, 2022), as well as the editor of The Heart of a Stranger: An Anthology of Exile Literature (Pushkin Press, 2020). He also co-edited Mick Imlah: Selected Prose (Peter Lang, 2015) and The Palm Beach Effect: Reflections on Michael Hofmann(CB Editions, 2013). He has translated over twenty titles of fiction, poetry and nonfiction, including works by Honoré de Balzac, Émile Zola, Abdellatif Laâbi, Ribka Sibhatu and Tahar Ben Jelloun. His writing appears regularly in the pages of the Times Literary Supplement, The Bafflerand Poetry (Chicago), among others. He is an Assistant Professor at the University of California, Davis.

Ásta Fanney Sigurðardóttir | Iceland

Ásta Fanney Sigurðardóttir is a poet, visual artist and musician based in Reykjavík. She is widely considered one of the country's most innovative poetry performers and has read her work worldwide.
Her first collection of poetry, Eilífðarnón (Forevernoon), was published in Iceland in 2019. In 2017 she was the recipient of the prestigious annual Ljóðstafur Jóns úr Vör poetry prize for a single unpublished poem.
For her multidisciplinary poetry practice – which spans text, music, performance, visual art and film.
Ásta was nominated for the Bernard Heidsieck Literary Prize by the Centre Pompidou in Paris in 2021.
She has been described by The Line of Best Fit as ‘one of Iceland's most prolific artists'.

Guntars Godiņš | Latvia

Guntars Godiņš - poet, storyteller and translator. One of the strongest voice in poetry of the 1970s, he belongs to the generation of poets who dealt harshly and ironically with the Soviet double standards, creating a new perspective on the value system of life, unlike Latvian poets of previous generations.
The author of five collections of poems, in whose poetry initially the lyrical, a little later - ironic, angry voice, poetic experiments in graphic poetry are replaced by poetic observation, focusing attention on the moment, small things and silence.
He has translated more then 50 works, while being a cultural ambassador who deepens the literary connections between Latvian, Estonian, Finnish and Swedish literature. Worked in the diplomatic service, performing the duties of a cultural attaché in the Republic of Estonia.

Jelena Glazova | Latvia

Jelena Glazova is a poet and artist who combines image, experimental sound, installation and poetic text in her projects.
The field of experimental music is drone/noise with the use of recycled vocals.
Has participated in international festivals and projects in Latvia, Russia, Estonia, Lithuania, Sweden, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Turkey, etc. She has worked as a guest composer at the Swedish electroacoustic research center "EMS" in Stockholm, as well as at the music studio of the experimental art center "WORM" in Rotterdam.
Glazov's first collection of poems "Transfēri" (2013 association "Orbīta") was nominated for the The Annual Latvian Literature Award, the second collection "Plasma" was published in English and Estonian in 2014. in May in Estonia (publishing house "Paranoia"). The third collection “Алчность/ Alkatība” was published in 2019 by Walter Dakša publishing house. The fourth collection "Naiveness" was published in 2022.
Glazova has given 200 performances in 16 countries since 2010.

Kārlis Vērdiņš | Latvia

Kārlis Vērdiņš is the author of six collections of poems and four children's books. His poetry books have been published in English, French, Spanish, Polish, Czech, Russian, Lithuanian and Slovenian.
In 2014, his poem "Come to Me" was included in the list of the 50 best love poems in the world compiled by the experts of London's Southbank Centre.
His children's book "Daddy" is included in the White Ravens 2017 list of the best children's books created by the International Youth Library (Munich) and the IBBY Honor List 2018 created by the international children's literature organization IBBY. Poetry by Georg Traklas, Charles Simich.
In 2022, he received a PhD in comparative literature from Washington University in St. Louis, USA. He is an assistant professor at the Latvian Academy of Arts and a leading researcher at the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of the University of Latvia.

Lubi Barre | USA

Lubi Barre was born in Paris in 1982 and grew up in Somalia and the USA. She is a writer of poetry and short stories and a curator. She published in the anthology "My Old Man" at Cannongate Books, the German language collection "Here and There" at Punktum Verlag as well as in the anthology Kontinentaldrift- Das Schwarze Europa by Wunderhorn Verlag.
She co-organized and co-moderated several reading series such as Hafenlesung and AHAB.
She founded Sprachlos Reading Series and co-organizes and curates FRAMED Reading series as well. She co-curated “Breaking the Canon” at Kampnagel in 2021 and was the literary curator for Fluctoplasma in 2020 and 2021.
She has received numerous grants for writing and curation and in addition teaches creative writing seminars.

María Ángeles Pérez López | Spain

Poet and professor of Latin America Literature at the University of Salamanca.
Anthologies of her poetry were published in Caracas, Mexico City, Quito, New York, Monterrey, Bogota, Lima and Buenos Aires. Also, bilingually anthologies of her poetry were published in Italy and Portugal.
His book Carnalidad del frío was published in bilingual editions in Brazil and the United States. The New York Poetry Press edition Carnality of Cold won Honorable Mention in the International Latino Book Awards 2023.
Incendio mineral (Vaso Roto, 2021) won Premio Nacional de la Crítica de España in 2022. Libro mediterráneo de los muertos (Pre-textos, 2023) won the Margarita Hierro.

Nikola Madžirov | Macedonia

Nikola Madžirov (poet, essayist, translator) was born in 1973 in Strumica, in the family of war refugees from the Balkan Wars. His poems are translated into more than forty languages.
For the book Relocated Stone (2007) was given the international Hubert Burda poetry award and the most prestigious Macedonian poetry award Miladinov Brothers at Struga Poetry Evenings. Other recognitions include Studentski Zbor award for best poetry debut and Xu Zhimo Silver Leaf award for European poetry at King’s College, Cambridge in UK.
American composer and collaborator of Björk and Lou Reed — Oliver Lake, the founder of “Snarky Puppy” — Michael League and Becca Stevens have composed music based on his poems.
He was granted several fellowships: International Writing Program (IWP) at University of Iowa; DAAD in Berlin;
Marguerite Yourcenar in France; Civitella Ranieri in Italy; Yaddo and MacDowell in US. He is coordinator of the international poetry network Lyrikline, based in Berlin and has translated Louise Glück, Yehuda Amichai, Vasko Popa, Georgi Gospodinov, Ilya Kaminsky, Vaclav Havel and many others.
He was member of the jury for the Griffin International Poetry Prize 2023.

Pierre Vinclair | France

French writer Pierre Vinclair Lived in Asia for almost 10 years: first as a writer-in-residence in Kyoto, then as a philosophy teacher in Tokyo, Shanghai and Singapore. He then moved to London and now lives in Switzerland.
He has published over 20 books in French, including works of poetry, fiction, and literary criticism.
Les Gestes impossibles (Flammarion, 2013) received an award from the French Academy (Académie française).
His recent books include La Sauvagerie, 500 ten-line poems about our ecological disaster.
He has also wrote philosophical investigations into T. S. Eliot’ s The Waste Land (Terre inculte, 2018) and John Ashbery’s Self-portrait in a Convex Mirror (Autorpotrait de John Ashbery, 2021). He has translated into French Derek Walcott’s Morning, Paramin (2016) and the Chinese Shijing.
He is the Chief editor of Catastrophes, a free, online, monthly French poetry magazine.
He was awarded Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in 2022.

Ramin Mazhar | Afganistan

Ramin Mazhar, born in 1995 in Bamyan, Afghanistan, currently resides in Paris.
The Farsi-writing poet and journalist is considered an icon of the younger generation in Afghanistan. He disseminates his poetry primarily through digital channels such as Telegram, Instagram, and YouTube, as well as through public readings.
Since the Taliban's resurgence in 2021, he has faced censorship in his homeland, prompting Mazhar to seek exile in France. Many of his poems have been set to music by Afghan musicians and composers like Ghawgha Taban and Hassan Azarmehr.
In his empathetic poetry, he addresses the wounds of war, gives a voice to the victims, and expresses solidarity with women in Kabul protesting against the new authorities.

Selahattin Yolgiden | Turkey

Turkish poet, translator and editor. He was born in İstanbul. His poems have been translated into 17 languages including English, German and Italian.
He is the winner of many poetry awards and he is also a member of editorial board to Çevrimdışı İstanbul Literature Magazine and Offline İstanbul International Poetry Festival.

Katharina Schultens | Gremany

Katharina Schultens has published four volumes of poetry and several essays, a fifth volume of poetry is forthcoming from kookbooks in 2024.
She translated the works of poets like Alice Notley, Keston Sutherland or Maaz Bin Bilal into German.
Among other awards, she was awarded the Basel Poetry and the Leonce and Lena Prize.

Sholeh Wolpé | USA

Sholeh Wolpé is an Iranian-American poet, playwright and librettist.
Her most recent book , Abacus of Loss: A Memoir in Verse, was hailed by Colorado Review as a book that “examines the masks of patriarchy in powerful metaphor and narrative.”
Wolpé’s literary work number over 12 collections of poetry, translations, and anthologies, as well as an oratorio, several plays, and multi-genre productions. Her most recent commission as a librettist is a full-length opera for six award-winning female composers.
Sholeh is the recipient of the 2014 PEN/Heim, 2013 Midwest Book Award, and 2010 Lois Roth Persian Translation prize and was recently a 2024 award judge for Neustadt International Prize.
Her translations of 12th century Sufi mystic poet, Attar, The Conference of the Birds , and 20th century Iranian rebel poet Forugh Farrokhzad, Sin: Selected Poems of Forugh Farrokhzad , have established Wolpé as a celebrated re-creator of Persian poetry into English.
Wolpé has lived in Iran, Trinidad, and the United Kingdom and is currently a writer-in-residence at the University of California, Irvine. She divides her time between Southern California and Barcelona.

Susinukke Kosola | Finland

Daniil Kozlov (who uses the nom de plume Susinukke Kosola) is a Russian-born literary jack of all trades. He has written four collections of poetry and created a bunch of 3D-printed poetic objects.
Kozlov is also broadly active in Finnish poetry circles; he is known for his live poetry performances, for founding a small publishing house called Kolera, and for being the originator and editor-in-chief of online national poetry critique portal Runografi.
In addition to all these projects, Kozlov teaches creative writing at the University of Turku. He has also occasionally been paid for his work.