Patras World Poetry Festival

DECEMBER 10th - 13th 2020

We would like to inform you that due to the implementation of a new lockdown in our country and the increase in the number of coronavirus cases, the organizing and scientific committee of the “Jean Moréas International Awards” and the Patras International Poetry Festival postpones the date of the event on December, 10-13 of 2020.

Digital Event

The Patras World Poetry Festival 2020 this year is entitled "National Poets" and plans to host 60 poets from 15 different countries around the world.

This year the festival be held online and virtually, as far as COVID-19 impact affects significantly the implementation of this event.

In the four-day online event there will be 6 meetings lasting up to 3 hours, where the guest poets will be presented with readings in 2 languages, via live connection. The events will be attended by invited representatives of institutions and the jury, while the program will include speeches, presentations, tributes, music, etc.

In addition, the following activities will take place within the schedule of the Festival events:

online Award of the annual Greek Poetry Awards "Jean Moréas" (Saturday December 12th)
Art Exhibition "National Poets" with the participation of 20 Greek artists and 10 artists from different countries (live and digital tour)
Collectible trilingual edition of the poems of the participants, in the first language of each artist, in Greek and English

The 3rd Patras World Poetry Festival 2020 is organized by the Poetry Fountation “Grafeion Poiiseos”, the literary website Culture Book (culturebook.gr) and the multicultural center Epikentro Plus History & Arts, while every year it is under the auspices of the Ministries of Culture and the Ministry of Tourism*. Supporters of the event are the Greek Library of London, the Cultural Center “Kostis Palamas”, the University of Western Macedonia, the Hellenic Open University and many other important institutions, as claimed under the Aegis of the President of the Hellenic Republic.

Awarding of Poetry Awards "Jean Moréas" for the year 2019

This annual event will be held digitally at one session of the PWPF Poetry Event 2020, with a presentation of the award-winning poets and recitations by them. This is the annual event during which the "Jean Moréas" Prizes are awarded for Greek poetic art and Greek poetic production in its entire range. They are recognizable nationwide and concern the poetry collections that were published throughout the previous calendar year from the year of the award. They refer both to young poets and newcomers and to those who are recognized with their poetic work along time.

The event is highly appreciated by the Greek literary and artistic circle of readers. In this year's event, in addition to the institutionalized awards, a very important foreign poet will be honored, who with his/her lifelong work honors the literature outside Greece.The Award Committee is composed of Greek University professors, as well as very important poets and poetry critics who will evaluate the work of the honorees.

Sincerely,

On behalf of the organizing committee.

Kotopoulos H. Triantafyllos, President of the “Patras World Poetry Festival”

Skiathas D. Antonis, President of the Poetry Fountation “Grafeion Poiiseos”

Alaniadi Maria, Event Manager of the “Patras World Poetry Festival”

Jean Jacques Pierre-Paul, Haiti

Patras World Poetry Festival PWPF 2021 Participants

Τετάρτη, 01 Δεκεμβρίου 2021

0 Σχόλια

Jean Jacques Pierre-Paul, Haiti

The Poems

Why Nobody is Joane Florvil

Nobody wants to be the victim of their own destiny
Nobody wants to bear the name of their own abyss
Nobody wants
to get up each day
with the world's scars on their forehead
They killed you, Joane Florvil,
every day
everywhere

When they murdered you in Africa
they said it was tradition
When they murdered you in the United States
it was self-defense
They murdered you in Chile
because you were a bad mother

The truth is everyone profits from your death
They pay some to accuse you
others to arrest you
others to place your death notice in the media

A small group of the outraged
try to keep you in collective memory
but it's useless to cry pronouncing your name
or asking your forgiveness
How can we live with such immorality?
How can we live in a city without poetry
or mirrors, without embraces, without Joane Florvil?

I am one of the cowards
who didn't understand you, defend you
All that is left for me now is to cry
as I write this poem
to tell you I am ashamed
to belong to the species that killed you
In a city filled with pretentious cowards
we might have loved you
might have created
a beautiful bird's nest from your gaze

(Translated by Margaret Randall)

¿Porque nadie es Joane Florvil?

Nadie quiere ser el blanco de su propio destino
Nadie quiere llevar el nombre de su propio abismo
Nadie va a querer
Levantarse todos los días
Con las cicatrices del mundo en la frente
Te mataron Joane Florvil
Todos los días
En todas partes
Cuando te mataron en África
Dijeron que era por costumbre
Cuando te mataron en Estados Unidos
Dijeron que era por autodefensa
Cuando te mataron en Chile
Dijeron que era por ser una mala madre

Lo cierto es que muchos ganan con tu muerte
Pagan a algunos para acusarte
Pagan a otros para arrestarte
Pagan a otros para dar la noticia en los medios de dominación
Un grupito de indignados intenta
Hacerte entrar en la memoria colectiva
Pero llorar diciendo tu nombre no sirve para nada
Pedirte perdón tampoco
¿Cómo es posible vivir en medio de tanta oscuridad?
Como es posible vivir en una ciudad sin poesía
Sin espejos, sin abrazos, ¿sin Joane Florvil?

Soy uno de los cobardes
Que no querían entenderte defenderte
Lo único que se me ocurre ahora es llorar
y escribir este poema para decirte
Que siento mucha vergüenza
De ser parte de la humanidad que te mató
En una ciudad llena de cobardes pretenciosos
Teníamos la oportunidad de amarte
Teníamos la oportunidad de hacer
Con tu mirada un bello nido de pájaros

* * *

Life is the beauty of existence

You didn't have enough spring times
to count all the stones we hurled at you
You didn't live to understand the Chilean dream
We all murdered you Joane Florvil
because your eyes were the wrong color
your accent isn't English, French or from Berlin
Now we don't know what to tell your daughter

We murdered you because it is dangerous to be Joane Florvil
at election time
but you could teach us something
Your brief journey left a lesson
we will soon forget:
The only thing worth loving is one human being
different from all others

Living isn't urgent
Loving is

(Translated by Margaret Randall)

Vivir es la belleza de existir

No alcanzaste a coleccionar suficientes primaveras
A contar todas las piedras que te hemos lanzado
No alcanzaste a entender el sueño chileno
Te matamos todos Joane Florvil
Por el color de tus ojos
Porque tu acento no es inglés, francés ni berlinés
Ahora no sabemos qué decir a tu hija

Te matamos porque es peligroso ser Joane Florvil
En tiempos de elecciones en un país sin negros
Pero algo pudiste enseñarnos
Tu corto viaje dejó una lección
Que pronto será olvidada:

Lo único digno de amar en un ser humano
Es lo que le hace diferente de los demás

Vivir no es urgente
Amar sí

The Poet

Jean Jacques Pierre-Paul was born in Jacmel, Haiti, in 1979. He is a poet and surgeon by profession, graduated in Cuba (Santiago de Cuba) with a Master's degree in Public Health from the University of Valparaíso, Chile, and a Diploma in Health Occupational at the University of Chile. He currently resides in Las Cruces, Chile, for 10 years. Writes and publishes in Spanish, Creole and French. Also practice painting-illustration and translation. He has lived in Chile for a decade. He attended the poetry workshop at the Soler Puig Cultural Center in Santiago de Cuba, directed by the poet Reinaldo García Blanco. He has published Miroir in Pierres Lisibles (Haiti, 2007), Future Islands (2010), Delirium (2013), Fleurs d'existence / Existential Flowers (2014), Voices of my voice (2015), Seven loose abysses and a man walking (2017), I write to you to stop dying (2017), Wandering Words (Anthology, 2018) and its Creole translation of Art of Birds, by Pablo Neruda (2019). It has been invented at great national and international poetry festivals such as the Medellín International Poetry Festival 2021 and its poems translated and published in multiple anthologies and literary magazines. Publish on your website www.palabraserrantes.cl
He is currently preparing the reissue of the 6 books published in Chile. The 2nd of the book "Voces de mi voz" by Editorial Anagenesis will soon be available in the bookstore.

Jean Jacques Pierre-Paul nació en Jacmel, Haití, en 1979. Es poeta y médico cirujano de profesión, titulado en Cuba (Santiago de Cuba) con grado académico de Magíster en Salud Publica de la Universidad de Valparaíso, Chile, y Diplomado en Salud Ocupacional en la Universidad de Chile. Reside actualmente en Las Cruces, Chile, desde hace 10 años. Escribe y publica en español, creole y francés. Practica también la pintura-ilustración y la traducción. Vive en Chile hace una década. Asistió al taller de poesía del Centro Cultural Soler Puig de Santiago de Cuba, dirigido por el poeta Reinaldo García Blanco. Ha publicado Miroir en Pierres Lisibles (Haití, 2007), Islas del futuro (2010), Delirium (2013), Fleurs d'existence/ Flores existenciales (2014), Voces de mi voz (2015), Siete abismos sueltos y un hombre caminando (2017), Te escribo para dejar de morir (2017), Palabras Errantes (Antología, 2018) y su traducción al creole de Arte de Pájaros, de Pablo Neruda (2019). Ha sido inventado a grandes festivales nacionales e internacionales de poesía como Festival Internacional de Poesía de Medellín 2021 y sus poemas traducidos y publicados en múltiples antologías y revistas literarias. Publica en su página web www.palabraserrantes.cl Actualmente está preparando la reedición de los 6 libros publicados en Chile. Pronto estará disponible en la librarías la 2da del libro "Voces de mi voz" a cargo de la Editorial Anagénesis.