So dull and dark are the November days, but for lovers of poetry in Stockholm, a light flickers on the horizon: the November 25th kickoff of the Stockholm International Poetry Festival.
SIPF’s 2014 focus is the Ukraine, and several Ukranian authors and poets – such as Serhiy Zhadan – will contribute to a lively atmosphere where music, dance and performance collide “to create something new.” Other notable poets include Abdellah Taïa (Morocco), Ioana Nicolaie (Romania), Olga Ravn (Denmark), Julian Brolaski (USA), Kim Hyesoon (Korea), Frida Hyvönen (Sweden), Tomasz Różycki (Poland), Helena Boberg, Robert Fux and Rikard Wolff (Sweden). Various events will be hosted at Södra Teatern, Stockholms stadsbibliotek and the Nobel Museum, all in the melting-pot spirit of poetry taking “new shapes and directions by giving it scenic expression.”
SIPF is widely recognized one of Scandinavia’s most important literary festivals where acclaimed international poets converge to bring their gifts to a Nordic audience. The first SIPF was inaugurated by Nobel laureate Tomas Tranströmer in 1997, and since then, it has been organized annually by 10Tal, a Stockholm-based art and literature magazine. Festivals like SIPF highlight the importance of the lyrical word and how it reveals life in endlessly rich expressions that touch us on our deepest level as humans.
A chilly mist has shrouded Stockholm for weeks, but the creativity and openness nurtured by SIPF will indeed bring some much-needed warmth and vigor – and you can still be a part of it. Tickets are available to many of SIPF’s different events, including a Scenic Performance at Södra Teatern on November 27 and a poetry reading with video art and music at the Nobel Museum on November 28.
For more information on what to do and when, visit the festival’s official website: http://stockholmpoetryfestival.wordpress.com/
