Transpoesie: Miren Agur Meabe

The TRANSPOESIE poetry festival celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. At the event, held around the European Day of Languages (September 26), poets from all over Europe will show their work in their languages of origin. The Basque language will be represented through the poems of Miren Agur Meabe. The festival will also organize poetry readings, talks and round tables over several weeks.

For ten years the EUNIC network (European Union National Institutes for Culture) has been celebrating European linguistic diversity every autumn through poetry at the Transpoesie festival. As every year, the most outstanding demonstration of this linguistic diversity will be seen in key metro stations across Brussels. Poems by several European poets have been on display at metro stations since September 15 in their original language alongside translations in French and Dutch.

Thanks to the participation of the Etxepare Basque Institute at EUNIC, this year Basque poetry will once again be represented, both in the Brussels metro and in the festival´s program of activities. The first lines of the poem Hirian ibiltzeko jarraibideak (Instructions for Walking in the City) by Miren Agur Meabe have been on display inside metro cars in the Belgian capital. In addition, the author will participate tomorrow, September 30, in a poetry reading via Zoom. Already a regular practice during this complicated year, the festival will also offer an online option for each event, and some events may also be attended in person. Based on this hybrid experience, and a good dose of humor, the organization has named this edition Let ´s go vir(tu)al!

Transcendental Journeys

This is the name of the poetry reading event to be held via Zoom tomorrow, September 30. This event, organized in partnership with Maison du Livre, will be offered through Transpoesie´s social network profiles (Facebook and Instagram) live at 8:00 pm. There will also be a live screening on-site at the Hungarian Cultural Institute in Brussels. Pre-registration is required.

In addition to Miren Agur Meabe, five other authors will participate in the event: poet Jaromír Typlt (Czech Republic), Adrian Perera (Finland), Lia Sturua (Georgia), Stephen Sexton (Northern Ireland) and the Josep Pedrals (Catalonia). Their voices will invite viewers on a “transcendental journey of the spirit", and "tell tales of urban and rural spaces through small moments of time". Each poet will read their work in their original language, with simultaneous translation into English available. The Belgian writer and musician Kriticos Mwansa will be in charge of moderating the event.