Statement of the World Poetry Movement

The Armenian Poetry Project invites Armenian poets and poetry organizations to read and spread the news of the formation of the World Poetry Movement. The statement found below was released at the closing ceremony of the 21st International Poetry Festival in Medellín Colombia, July 2011 and is updated to include new affiliations.

Any individuals and organizations interesting in joining this movement please contact APP at armenianpoetryproject[at]gmail[dot]com.

Thank you,

Lola Koundakjian
2010 participant at the 20th International Poetry Festival, Medellín, Colombia

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At the 21º Medellin Poetry Festival, directors of Poetry Festivals worldwide have conducted a 5-day meeting on the status of poetry and poetry festivals across the world, analyzing and discussing human concerns and issues regarding difficulties and achievements as part of local organizations promoting poetry in each of our cities and countries.

The first sessions discussed the relationship between poetry and peace and reconstruction of the human spirit, nature reconciliation and recovery, unity and cultural diversity of the peoples, material misery and poetic justice, and actions to take towards the globalization of poetry.

Participants decided to establish the World Poetry Movement, whose main purpose would be to increase cooperation between poetry festivals, poets and poetic projects, thus strengthening our collective voice.

The World Poetry Movement recognizes that:

• Poetry provides meaningful insights into the human condition. 
• Contrary to the idea that languages divide the world, it is precisely the diversity of languages that enriches poetry festivals. 
• The World Poetry Movement will strengthen each festival in their local and global approach to their challenges and concerns. 
• The exceptional connection with the public evidenced in the Medellin Poetry Festival highlights the value of poetry reaching people. 

Main objectives of the World Poetry Movement are:

• That all poets, poetry initiatives and organizations are invited to join the World Poetry Movement. 
• To promote the growth of poetry festivals across the world in all their diversity. 
• To enhance communication between poetry festivals and poetry organizations. 
• To promote the development of poetry schools and poetry initiatives. 
• To explore audience development initiatives to broaden publics and access to poetry. 
• To address issues such as publishing, translation and the general concerns of poets worldwide. 

This movement begins a significant process that goes beyond individual concerns and creates exciting possibilities for poets and poetry events worldwide - we stand with humility and care for the birth of this new project.

Tomás Arias, poet and representative of Barcelona Poesía (Spain)
Kwame Dawes, poet and representative of Calabash International Literary Festival (Jamaica)
Norma Cárdenas, director of Encuentro Iberoamericano de Poesía Carlos Pellicer Cámara (Tabasco, Mexico)
Iliana Godoy, president, Encuentro Hispanoamericano de Poesía Independiente en México D.F. (Mexico)
José María Memet, poet and director, Encuentro Internacional de Poetas ChilePoesía (Chile)
Sixto Cabrera, poet and representative, Encuentro Latinoamericano de Poesía en Veracruz (México)
Pedro Enríquez, poet and director, Festival de Poesía al Laurel, Granada (España)
Gustavo Caso Rosendi, coordinator, Festival de Poesía de La Plata (Argentina).
Lucy Cristina Chau, poet and directora del Festival Internacional de Poesía Ars Amandi (Panama)
Jelka Ciglenečki, director, Festival Days of Poetry and Wine (Slovenia)
Aaron Rueda, poet and director, Festival Iberoamericano de Poesía Salvador Díaz Mirón (Mexico)
Fernando Valverde, poet and director, Festival Internacional de Poesía de Granada (Spain)
Rafael del Castillo y Fernando Linero, poets and representatives, Festival Internacional de Poesía de Bogotá (Colombia)
Benjamín Chávez, director, Festival Internacional de Poesía de Bolivia.
Graciela Aráoz, poet and director, del Festival Internacional de Poesía de Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Miguel Iriarte, poet and director, Festival Internacional de Poesía en el Caribe, PoeMaRío, en Barranquilla (Colombia)
Juano Villafañe, poet and director, Festival Nacional y Latinoamericano de Poesía en el Centro (Argentina)
Norberto Salinas y Rodolfo Dada, poets and representatives, Festival Internacional de Poesía de Costa Rica
Rigoberto Paredes, poet and director, Festival Internacional de Poesía de Honduras
Alex Pausides, poet and director, Festival Internacional de Poesía de La Habana (Cuba)
Giovanni Gómez, poet and director, Festival Internacional de Poesía Luna de Locos (Colombia)
José Zuleta, director, Festival Internacional de Poesía de Cali, Colombia
Tati Hernández, director, Festival de Poesía en la Montaña, Jarabacoa (República Dominicana).
Fernando Rendón, Gabriel Jaime Franco, Jairo Guzmán y Gloria Chvatal,
Representatives, Festival Internacional de Poesía de Medellín (Colombia)
Renato Sandoval, director, Festival Internacional de Poesía de Lima (Peru)
Casimiro de Britto, director, Festival de Poesía en Portugal.
Marvin García, poet and director, Festival Internacional de Poesía de Quetzaltenango (Guatemala)
Gabriel Impaglioni, poet and director, Festival Internacional de Poesía Palabra en el Mundo (Argentina/Italy)
Vilma Reyes y Vicente Rodríguez Nietzche, poets and representatives, Festival Internacional de Poesía de Puerto Rico.
José Mármol, poet and director, Festival Internacional de Poesía de República Dominicana
Leonardo Onida, director, Festival Ottobre in Poesia, de Sardegna (Italy).
Grupo Coordinador, Festival Napolipoesia (Italy)
Otoniel Guevara, poet and director, Encuentro Internacional de Poetas El Turno del Ofendido (El Salvador)
Guillermo Naranjo, director, Encuentro Internacional de Poesía Occidente (Costa Rica).
Rira Abbasi, director, International Festival of Peace Poetry (Iran)
Jidi Majia, director, International Poetry Festival of Qinghai (China)
Lisa Makarchuk, Coordinator, Internatio​nal Festival of Poetry of Resistance (Canada).
Gaston Bellemare, Presidente de la International Federation of Poetry Festivals y director del Festival International de la Poèsie de Trois-Rivières (Canada)
Lucile Bernard, director, Les Rencontres Internationales de la Poésie de Marrakech (Morocco).
Marcel Kemadjou, director, International Poetry Festival 3V (Cameroon).
Iryna Vikyrchak, poet and executive director, International Poetry Festival Meridian Czernowitz (Ukraine)
Lello Voce, poet and representative, International Poetry Festival RomaPoesía and Absolute Poetry (Italy)
Amir Or, poet and director, International Poetry Festival Sha'ar (Israel)
Rati Saxena, poeta and director, Krytia International Poetry Festival (India)
Thomas Wohlfahrt, director, Literaturwerkstatt Berlín (Germany)
Sergio Iagulli e Raffaella Marzano, coordinators, Festival Lo Spirito dei Luoghi (Italy)
Sergio Iagulli, director, Incontri Internazionali di Poesia di Sarajevo (Serbia)
Endre Ruset, poet and director de Norsk Litteraturfestival (Norway)
Peter Rorvik, director, Poetry Africa (South Africa)
Bas Kwakman, director, Poetry International Rotterdam (Netherlands)
Regina Dyck, director, Poetry on the Road (Germany)
Céline Hémon, representative, Les Printemps des Poètes (France)
Zabier Hernández, representative, Recital Internacional de Poesía desde el Sur, en Pasto (Colombia)
Héctor Berenguer, director, Semana de las Letras, Rosario (Argentina)
Jack Hirschmann, poet and director, San Francisco International Poetry Festival (Unites States)
Mendy Knott, director, Spleet This Rock (United States).
Eliana Mesa, coordinator, Sunday Poetry, Toronto (Canada).
Ataol Behramoglu, poet and advisor, Smyrna Poetry Festival (Turkey)
Eleanor Livingstone, director, StAnza: Scotland’s International Poetry Festival (Scotland)
Nikola Madzirov, poeta and representative, Struga Poetry Evenings (Macedonia)
Ban'ya Natsuishi, poeta and director, Tokyo Poetry Festival (Japan)
Ide Hintze, director, Poetry School of Vienna (Austria)
Casa della Poesia (Baronissi/Salerno, Italy)
Fundación Rosalía de Castro (España)
Lola Koundajkian, director, Armenian Poetry Project (Armenia)
Alpidio Alonso Grau, director, Poetry Magazine Amnios (Cuba)
Norberto Codina, director, Poetry Magazine La Gaceta de Cuba
Fidel Diaz C., director, Poetry Magazine El Caimán Barbudo (Cuba)
Edel Morales, director, Poetry Magazine La Letra del Escriba (Cuba)
Jorge Bousoño, director, Portal Digital Alas (Cuba)
Roberto Manzano, Jesús David Curbelo, Susana Haug, directors, Proyecto Pedagógico Laboratorio de Escrituras de La Habana.
María Teresa Cuesta, directora, Sello Editorial Colección Sur Editores
Marlene Alfonso Ulacia, coordinator, Proyecto comunitario CubaPoesia
Nina Reis, Roberto Bianchi , directors, Cultural Movement aBrace,
Helena Villar Janeiro, director, Fundación Rosalía de Castro (Spain)
Francisco Garzaro, poet and representative, Mesa de Poesía, Guatemala
Milena Ercollani, president, Associazione Culturale "La Sammarina" (San Marino)
Michael Rothenberg, director, 100.000 Poets for Change
Thiago de Mello, Brasil.
Pablo Armando Fernández, Cuba.
Hugo Mujica, Argentina.
Liliana Diaz Mindurry, Argentina.
Armando Santoro, Italia.
Clemente Padín, Uruguay,
Rafael Patiño, Colombia.
Gaston Saint-Fleur, Haití.
Juan Diego Tamayo, Colombia.
Oscar González, Colombia.
Cristina Castello, Argentina.
Soledad Benages, Spain.
Cristian Avecillas, Ecuador.
Winston Morales, Colombia.
Jairo Godoy, Argentina.
Mónica Muñoz, Argentina.
Jorge Campero, Bolivia.
Omar Castillo, Colombia.
Carmen Campos, Venezuela.
Ngwatilo Mawiyoo, Kenya.
Ricardo Luis Plaul, Argentina.
Edel Morales, Cuba.
Leticia Herrera, México.
Jorge Ariel Madrazo, Argentina