Sofia, May 14 (BTA) – Poets from India, Spain, Romania, Morocco, North Macedonia, Albania, the US, Moldova and Bulgaria came together to talk poetry and read poetry at an event hosted by the southern Bulgarian town of Plovdiv for three days until May 15. They are participants in the 4th edition of the Orpheus International Poetry Festival, which aims to throw a bridge between poets in Plovdiv and Bulgaria, and those in the rest of the world so they can exchange ideas, inspiration and contacts.
Six of the 13 participants in the festival participated in person and the others online. The event is taking place at an early Christian basilica where the poets are submerged in the unique atmosphere created by antique and medieval remains. All events are live-streamed.
Anton Baev, the director of the Plovdiv-LIK foundation which organizes the Orpheus festival, says all foreign participants feel it a priviledge to stand on top of the glass canopy over the ancient remains in the basilica, and read their poems there. Each reads their poems in their original language, accompanied by translation provided by Plovdiv-LIK.
The organization has published two multilingual collections of poems of participants in the festival. Baev says that the festival presents awards but they have no cash value – and yet poets from around the world are thrilled to come. The organizers rely to attract a young audience. They have fine cooperation with a local high school and Baev says it feels incredible to have young people attending the festival events.
Several awards will be presented this year, including an Orpheus for lifelong achievement to renowned Bulgarian poet and novelist Georgi Gospodinov.
Among the winners are also Bulgarian poet Stoyan Terziev, Mihajlo Sviderski from the Republic of North Macedonia and Ekaterina Kostova from Bulgaria.
Special guest this year is Irsaeli poetry Hava Pinhas-Cohen, who had her poetry colletion premier during the festival.
A total of 52 authors have participated in the four editions of the festival.
The festival is supported by the Plovdiv Town Hall and has been part of the cultural calendar of Plovdiv for four years now. LN/