On Tuesday, October 29, the 11th edition of Poets in Transylvania kicks off in Sibiu. The International Poetry Festival in Sibiu is one of Romania’s most beloved literary events. This year’s edition brings to Sibiu leading names in contemporary international literature, with poets from 12 countries across three continents: the United States, Ukraine, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Belgium, Poland, Slovenia, Germany, Ireland, Moldova, and Romania.
The festival’s official opening and first evening of poetry will be held on October 29 at Casa Artelor, ASTRA Museum (Piața Mică 21), starting at 6:00 PM. The second and third poetry evenings will take place on October 30 and 31 at the “Avram Iancu” Hall of “Lucian Blaga” University in Sibiu (Bd. Victoriei 5-7), also starting at 6:00 PM. Public attendance at the Festival is free, subject to available seating.
A highlight of the program is the fusion of poetry with visual arts on Thursday, October 31. Under the theme “Poets Drawing on Dan Perjovschi’s Wall,” this event invites participating poets to draw on Dan Perjovschi’s Horizontal Newspaper/Wall, located on the wall of the Radu Stanca National Theatre. This wall serves as an “open newspaper” where Perjovschi shares his visual commentary on public discourse, both national and international. Poets’ involvement in this renowned Romanian visual artist’s project began five years ago and has since become a staple of the Poets in Transylvania program.
This year’s lineup includes remarkable poets, laureates of prestigious international awards, published by renowned publishers worldwide, frequently invited to international poetry festivals, many holding prominent roles in global writers’ organizations or conducting extensive research at leading universities. Among this year’s guests are professors from top universities in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, the head of PEN Ukraine during the ongoing Russian aggression, and authors published by Random House, Penguin, HarperCollins, Norton, Yale University Press, Bloodaxe, and other esteemed publishing houses. These poets have been honored by institutions like the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Pulitzer Prize, National Endowment for the Arts, Guggenheim, and the National Book Award.
As in previous years, the festival has three main sections: readings open to the general public, debates on the connection between art and social action, and a program of writer meet-and-greet events, primarily aimed at young audiences.
The Art and Social Action section, developed in recent editions in partnership with PEN Romania, will be further enriched this year by the participation of Andrei Kurkov, the celebrated Ukrainian novelist and former president of PEN Ukraine. Kurkov, awarded the Médicis Prize this year and previously a Booker International nominee and jury member, has had his 20 novels translated into over 40 languages. The discussion, themed Art as Witness: Literature and Music in Times of War, will feature Kurkov alongside Carolyn Forché, Oleksandr Krasovytskyy, and Lloyd Schwartz. Forché is well-known for her seminal 1993 anthology Against Forgetting: 20th Century Poetry of Witness; Krasovytskyy is Kurkov’s editor, and Schwartz was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for classical music criticism in 1994.
A series of additional events, primarily for young audiences—students, high schoolers, and the general public—will be held at the ASTRA County Library / American Corner (George Barițiu St., No. 7). The first of these events, featuring poet Rita Chirian, will take place as a preview of this year’s Poets in Transylvania, on Friday, October 25, at 6:00 PM. The following events in this series will bring poets Andrei Codrescu (Monday, October 28, 6:00 PM) and Marin Mălaicu-Hondrari (Thursday, October 31, 12:00 PM) to the stage.
“People often talk, rightfully so, about the breakdown of social bonds, about individual isolation, loneliness, and a global epidemic of depression, along with various forms of radicalization. Poetry is one of the most effective tools humanity has devised against loneliness. No other art has brought communities together quite like poetry—from ritual sacraments binding tribes to the nation-building of the 19th century. Poetry has fostered connection with extraordinary efficiency. Poetry festivals are exactly that: verbal technologies for building community and dispelling isolation. They demonstrate that the ‘other’ exists and that their unique differences are wonderful. Come to the 11th edition of Poets in Transylvania, and you’ll see for yourself,” said writer Radu Vancu, president of the Festival.