Poetry festival takes Nordic poets out into the world

A poetry festival can be much more than a gathering of poets with the same language and cultural background. It can include poets from different countries, each with their own stories. It can also involve music and dance performances.

A Nordic network has focused on setting up a concept that can be easily transferred from one place to another, a mobile poetry festival. The festival has a simple structure so it is easy to adapt and apply to serve different needs. The idea has attracted a large amount of interest.

“The project has developed in many directions, and not only in the Nordic region. I believe this is an effective way of bringing Nordic poets to other parts of the world. We have already been contacted from Croatia, England, Hungary and even Botswana”, says project manager Maria Björk.

The members of the network are from Uppsala in Sweden; Porsgrunn in Norway and Århus in Denmark. It became apparent that the poets had a strong interest in meeting one another and sharing experience.

“The best thing about the project is to see the enthusiasm of the younger poets. It has been easy for them to connect with poets in other countries. The popular themes are the same: current affairs, social critique and the future”.

The interest expressed in other countries has urged the participants to think about the future. A seed has now been planted, and the many new contacts will help it to grow on the international plane.

The Nordic Poetry Festival network received support from the module of short-term network funding of the Mobility and Residency Programme.