A Voice for Peace, Concord, and Harmony: The XV International Poetry Festival in Philadelphia will virtually congregate poets from Latin America and the United States in an evening of verse and music.

The Free Library, Acción Colombia, the Department of Spanish and Portuguese,Temple University, and the Penn Museum are collaborating together to present this community event.

Leity Rodríguez, Director of Acción Colombia, mentioned that "The goal of this type of creative event is to build solidarity, cohesion and inclusion in our Latino and immigrant communities; also, to invite other communities that speak, write or are interested in learning the Spanish language." In addition, she added, "When we share creative events, we empower our communities, make any community proud of their culture and feel part of the community where we live."

Likewise, Dr. Norma Corrales-Martín, Temple  University Spanish professor, remarked that "Poetry is a universal language. During past International Poetry Festivals we have had poets who write in Spanish and others who write in English. We have encouraged those who are bilingual to not translate their poems. We want the audience to immerse in the sounds and rhythms of language and to feel poetry. I also believe in the importance of poetry for providing a voice that could be critical, harmonious or discordant, to help create a world where our humanity and spirituality are shared and celebrated.” She added, "I think the purpose of a poem is to elicit in the audience emotions and thought processes that have been particularly meaningful to the writer. It appeals to our humanity and to our higher selves at the same time."

This year a creative poetry program will be held two weeks prior to the main event. The mexican poet and writer Carlos José Pérez Sámano, author of Africa Sueño de Sombras Largas, published in 2012, will be presenting this creative workshop. 

Encontrar Nuestra Voz: Taller de Poesía | Finding Our Voice: Poetry Workshop | Thursday, April 22 at 7:00 p.m.

The goal of this workshop is to explore an easy and simple way to write poetry. Through archeological objects of the Mexico and Central American Gallery of the Penn Museum, the writer, Carlos José Pérez Sámano, will take us on a journey to discover and produce poetic language.

Registration link: https://tinyurl.com/w2535zkt                                         

During the main poetry event, each poet will read one piece, and at the end of each round a short musical performance from the Soprano, Daniela Mar, will follow.

Una Voz por la Paz, la Concordia y la Armonía | Thursday, May 6 at 6:30 p.m.

A Voice for Peace, Concord and Harmony, the XV International Poetry Festival in Philadelphia will congregate poets from Latin America and USA in an evening of verse and music.

Registration link: https://tinyurl.com/ccmkzks                           

This program is part of the International Event Festival de Poesía en Todas Partes XV. For additional information, please email Norma Corrales-Martin at ncm @ temple.edu or visit www.accioncolombia.org.

 
¡Los esperamos!

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