Genoa Poetry Festival
Genoa International Poetry Festival
The GENOA INTERNATIONAL POETRY FESTIVAL “PAROLE SPALANCATE” (wide open words) has been founded in 1995 and it is the biggest and oldest poetry event in Italy.
The Festival is organized by Circolo dei Viaggiatori nel Tempo and directed by the poet Claudio Pozzani since its creation.
It presents poetry in relation to other art forms (music, video and cinema, theater, visual and plastic arts, dance) and the new media.
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The venues are beaches, historical buildings, clubs, bookstores, libraries, parks and, above all, Palazzo Ducale, the most important historical building of the city.
Every year the Festival provides 120 free events such as readings, performances, exhibitions, concerts, workshops, guided tours, projections.
During the 29 editions already organized more than 1900 poets from 91 countries attended the Festival including Nobel prizes winners Walcott, Soyinka, Coetzee, Gao and Milosz. See the list of participants here
Pozzani, Jodorowsky and Evtushenko @credits Gianni Ansaldi
Over the years the Festival has created other international events in France, Belgium, Austria, Germany, Japan and Finland.
Since 2004 the section “Poetical reconstruction of the universe” presents some possible future scenarios through the participation of poets, writers, creatives, artists, architects, designers, webmasters with seminars, conferences and exhibitions.
In 2015 Parole spalancate has founded the platform Versopolis with other 14 European poetry festivals and the support of European Union (Programme Creative Europe)
Every year the Festival organizes the “Bloomsday”, the integral reading of the Joyce’s masterpiece “Ulysses” by more than 100 readers (amateurs and professional) in 20 locations of the old town of Genoa.
1995
First edition of the Genoa International Poetry Festival
120
Free events every year
1600
participant poets
89
Countries of origin of the poets and artists