Received messages from invited poets returning to their countries
Received messages from invited
poets returning to their countries
Dear friends,
All of you, great festival people, great poet friends, great public of Medellín!
Some events grow bigger as time passes, when transformed into memory. One of those events is the Poetry Festival of Medellín.
This unique festival showed us how an encounter between poets and public can create something that is bigger than all of us, we could call it Living Poetry.
It was wonderful to witness that.
We are back in Iceland, me and Kristín, happy and thinking of you. As we were not able to say goodbye to many of you when we left Medellín, I hereby send our best salutations to all of you.
Hope to see you later, "don't know where, don't know when"...
Sigurdur Pálsson.
*
Queridos amigos,
Back to Montreal, I want to tell you how much being part of the Festival international de poesia of Medellin has been a great pleasure.
I was moved by everything: your wonderful team, the poets, the fantastic audience responding to poetry, the city of Medellin itself; all will
be in my heart for a long time. Thank you also for the strong energy you are putting in the Columbian society through the festival.
This is about life and it is not only precious but a guaranty of future, roots of love for the future.
Please give my regards to everyone and be sure that I shall not forget any moment of my participation to the Festival.
With my admiration and affection,
Nicole Brossard
*
Dear Fernando Rendón, Gloria Chavatal and Colombian friends,
It was realy hard for me to say adios to Medellín. And now, the memory on the days of the International Poetry Festival is coming back to me tronger than ever before. You have done all what you could for us. And I now dreaming to return to Medellín.
In the airport, I was helped warmly by the people as I was checking in because they knew that I am a poet who just attended the International Poetry Festival held in their citry. I was so moved.
I came back home after long flight. My body is very tired but my heart is happy. The days I was living in Medellin are happy ones of my life. Your voices in readings are still resounding in my heart. I am now turning my thought to Medellin. I love this city and people there. Once more they taught me how the poetry is.
Vietnam will have the International Poetry Festival soon. And I will have good chance to meet you again.
Thanks alot
The best regards
Nguyen Quang Thieu
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Dear friend Fernando,
Already, I have been several days back in beirut, yet I feel that I am still in Medellin. No other festival has left its prints so deep in my being.A gain, I would like to express my deep gratitude to you and to all your assistants for their warm treatment and the well-organized activities of the festival, not forgetting the citizens of Medellin for their extraordinary love to poetry.
Thank you for the invitation, for the warm reception and treatment, and for all the effort you made for the success of the festival, hoping that you continue to spread out the love to poetry in the world.
It would be impossible for me to forget your patience ,your kindness and your warm treatment of us all, for which I thank you wholeheartedly, hoping to meet you again.
Your kind, warm and smiling faces are printed deeply in my life for all the years to come.
No words can express my joy of knowing you.
Hope to remain in contact,
with my friendly greetings, also to your familyThank you all.
Fuad Rifka
*
Dans les bras du soleil fraternel
Je me souviens de vous
Dans la nuit ouverte
sur le monde aux mille visages
Je me souviens de vous
Dans la danse sous la pluie
au rythme de nos coeurs réunis
Je me souviens de vous
Dans le rêve bercé par le chant
libre et généreux
Je me souviens de vous
Je vous embrasse
Tahar Bekri
*
Dear Fernando and Gloria,
Please accept my sincerest appreciation for one of the most important and moving experiences of my life. Convey to all your staff who worked professionally, tirelessly to be of service both in their translations, their specific tasks and as human beings joined by a love of poetry and kindness, that I join all my poet colleagues in saying they did a magnificent job and we will never forget those we individually worked with and those we saw running around doing a myriad of things. The choice of hotel was fine and the staff was friendly and so anxious to please. My only suggestions are: maybe if we could have some way of hearing translations of the Spanish especially in the case of those languages that have been translated into Spanish, i.e, German into Spanish. This could be just a synopsis of the poem. This is a minor point. But for me, if I am ever invited again, and I hope next year I will, and am sent to Pasto, and I hope I will, I should love to stay two nights so that I can see the place. I should love to go to either or both the coastal areas to the Afrodecendents area to do workshops and readings with them. In fact if there is any possibility of this happening before the festival next year, I would love to come to do this. You might be able to use some of the poetry for the festival. Just a suggestion. I hope you will go on line and look at my Creative Writing Programme at Wilkes University, (I gave you a flyer.) because th is could be something a writer from there would be able to do since it only requires one to come to campus twice a year and that can be negotiated. All the rest is done on line.www.wilkes.edu
I would like to suggest a few poets for consideration; Suheir Hamad; a Palestinian/American poet who is young, brilliant and socially committed, Willie Kgostisile, a South African poet. He currently is back in his country after almost thirty years of exile. I think if you look for him on line you will be surprised at his accomplishments. He is an old friend in that we are around the same age.Amiri Baraka, I am sure you know of him and I am not sure if you have ever invited him before but he would be wonderful to bring there. In spite of being 75, (October), he is firey and inspiring still.
I would like to let you know about a women's playwriting series should you know a woman who might be interested in presenting her work for a staged reading. I am a dramaturg and board member of Potpourri Festival of Women Playwriters and we do a month of performances during March. There is no funding for this so I help raise money from friends. The woman doesn't have to come up for it if this is financially impossible but can send the ms. to us when it is time to solicity scripts. Just for your information.
Best Wishes to All
Rashidah Ismaili Abubakr
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Dear Fernando and family and alle festivalcompaneros
I have so many fond memories of this tremendous festival
(and thanks to my 'reader' Leonardo I had some legendary
extra's e.g. meeting with la Dama del Tango or taking the
metrocable over the hills in the night ,...) --- and so many
fine contacts, such a warm pool of friendship and 'poetry
exchange' it was... I am sure we'll meet again and meet a lot
of my colleagues too, I really do hope so.
Meanwhile, so many thanks and if there is a n y problem
(troubles overthere, let's hope nOt), you know you can count on me
(Het Kapersnest) and so many
other poets all over the world.
tonight I shall buy a botlle of Vodka ('Aàààààh!') and say cheers to the stars, direction Medellín - tchin tchin!
With a warm embrace,
Peter Holvoet-Hanssen
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Dear poets,
It will take some days for everything to sink in. I echo all of Peter's words. I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude to the organizers, translators and the people of Columbia.
Hope all of you are getting a bit of rest after the magnificent show you pulled off. There are really no words to describe my gratitude and appreciation for including India in this true world event. All of you put your all into it. We felt so loved and taken care off. Honestly, there are no words to describe my feelings at this time.
I am still warmed by the events, poets, friendships and even weather of Colombia for the weather revealed how big hearted the audiences were! I came back with a full heart and strangely healed in some fashion.The hospitality of the organizers, staff, translators, restaurant staff was just amazing so beyond the call of duty.
Thank you all for making the trip so memorable. It was unique.
I hope there will be a link at the website for a bit of a reading for each poet so I can share the link with friends far off. Another small suggestion that I would like to make is that it would be wonderful if you had a small section of poetry by Columbian children and an anthology by them. I hear that next year is a special celebration and it would be wonderful to have an event by your very own kids as it will give them an opportunity to share their work and encourage poetry writing in kids.
Our home will always have open doors for you here in Austin. I look forward to unfolding friendships and kinship. To the poets- thank you, thank you, thank you. Looking forward to our continuing friendship.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
love,
Usha Akella
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Dear Fernando, Dear Fellow Poets,
First I must congratulate Fernando and his team on the superb manner in which they ran the Festival. A difficult task was made to look easy, and as a guest, I felt welcome and comfortable. I thank them from the bottom of my heart.
Secondly, it was so wonderful to meet so many fellow-poets from so many countries, cultures and languages and even make some friends.
Thirdly, I want to commend the city of Medellin for hosting this event, something I know they do every year.
The most amazing thing for me was to see the Colombian people's love of poetry that would make them defy adverse weather conditions such as the downpour on the opening night. AMAZING! UTTERLY AMAZING!!
Thanks.
Daniel Kunene
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Dear Fernando Rendón,
It was a fantastic poetry festival in Medellín. Many many thanks for you and your great group of young people who were our real angels. Many thanks for your great work.
Best wishes,
Fadhil Al-Azzawi
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Dear Fernando:
Thank you very, very much for inviting me to participate in the wonderful Festival Internacional de Poesia De Medellin. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting, reading and exchanging views with the world community of poets in the great poetic city of Medellin. It was a real pleasure to hear so many different voices. I am glad that the the people of Medellin are so supportive of poetry. I loved reading my poems to them and hearing the Spanish translations read so enthusiastically by Yira. It is always gratifying to have such an attentive and appreciative audience. Congratulations and many thanks again to you, and staff for your hospitality and for your thoughtful and generous promotion of poetry and audience development.
Sincerely yours,
Jayne Cortez
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Querido Fernando:
Quiero felicitarte de nuevo por la belleza de festival realizado con el impecable apoyo de tu cuerpo de trabajo.
Para todos mil gracias. Sigue contando con mi lealtad y solidaridad a toda prueba. Pero me he dado cuenta de que el Festival es imbatible. Adelante. Recibe mi abrazo
Jotamario Arbeláez
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My dear FRIENDS!
I have taken so much of spiritual wealth from Medellin and Columbia that I will treasure forever.
And I am so sorry that I could not say good-bye to many of you as I was in a hurry to go to the airport after the great reading in Nutibara. And I really do not want to say "a good-bye" to you, because I look forward to seeing you somewhere sometime again and again. If you once have a chance to visit Uzbekistan, do let me know - my doors are open to you any time.
Again, thank you, dear Fernando Rendon and a great staff of the festival!
Please, KEEP IN TOUCH!
With fraternal embrace and sincere LOVE,
Aazam Abidov
*
Gracias amigos, este fue un festival memorable.
Fue grande el calor humano, y hubo mucha poesía de gran calidad
Att. Carlos Enrique Sierra
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Fernando querido amigo
Infinitas gracias por habernos permitido participar en esa extraordinaria fiesta de la poesía que es el festival de Medellin---te agradecemos muchísimo todas tus atenciones y generosidades---fue un festival inolvidable---y te felicito por tener a tu lado a un equipo extraordinario y vos te mereces todo—
Todos los abrazos del mundo-----por favor mantengamos el contacto-----con nosotros tenes amigos fieles--
Francisco de Asís Fernández y Gloria Gabuardi
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Queridísimos Fernando, Luis Eduardo, Gloria, Alvaro, Natalie,
Emocionante, inolvidable. Y como habéis dicho, formidable. Fueron días muy dichosos, y muchísimas gracias por esta oportunidad de compartir
no sólo nuestra poesía sino también el amor y la fraternidad.
Mabuhay ka, Fernando (in Tagalo, significa, Viva, Fernando!) y Viva, Medellín! Estos días en cuanto me despierto, la primera pregunta es, “¿Dónde leemos hoy para el festival?”!!! La mente ya está en Medellín…
Un fuerte abrazo,
Alice Sun Cua and Alex
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Estimado Luis Eduardo y demás amigos: Ya estoy en casa, todo estuvo bien en el viaje de regreso. Ahora siento un poco de nostalgia por esos días hermosos que ustedes se encargan de regalarle a cada uno de los que vamos a su bella Medellín. Gracias por tanto amor, fueron muy amables conmigo. Tengo fe en el reencuentro. Un fuerte abrazo para todos,
Luis Yuseff
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Luis, Fernando
un agradecimiento enorme por el trato la cordialidad y la felicitación por su excelente organización
me encantó leer en Cajamarca con los habitantes del pueblo agricultores y poetas a la vez, con los jóvenes entusiastas en Ibagué, ese domingo en andes con teatro lleno, en Rionegro con la multitud en la plaza en las maravillosas bibliotecas en el teatro y en la clausura, además de impartir una conferencia sobre el proyecto de la acción poética que espero y se pueda hacer en Medellín gracias a todos.
Salud y poesía.
Armando Alanis
*
Querido Fernando:
Profundamente agradecida y conmovida, y aún sin lograr aterrizar, envío para ti y tu bello equipo, un cálido abrazo repleto de Gracias. Sé que esta experiencia es un gran regalo de la vida y que a todos nos colmó el alma.
Esta oportunidad me ha permitido constatar algo que siempre digo a mis alumnos de Comunicación y Derechos Humanos, y es que no existen barreras cuando el corazón se abre y nos queremos encontrar y comunicar.
Sé, a pesar de mis limitaciones con el inglés y el francés, que tengo ahora amigos en muchas partes del mundo, unidos en la defensa de la vida. Llegué con el propósito de estudiar inglés y así enriquecer el diálogo con ellos.
Siento que esta hermandad perdurará por siempre.
Entre tantos abrazos y textos recibidos, tengo un mensaje que me dio una niña, de unos nueve años, que conocí en Casa Ávila, que resume lo que todos creemos: " La poesía puede cambiar el mundo". Te lo enviaré luego, pues lo quiero scanear.
Gracias poeta por propiciar el milagro que para todos será renovado impulso, sintiendo el alma tan colmada y tan posibles los sueños de mejores realidades.
A ti y los tuyos, gracias, gracias, gracias, y todo mi cariño. En Bogotá tienen una hermana.
Gilma de los Ríos
*
Querido Fernando: No sabes lo desgarrado que regresé a Chile, aún no despierto de todo eso y cuando escucho la palabra "Medellín", sólo dejo escapar lágrimas, gracias Fernando por ese sortilegio, fue algo imborrable.
Un gran abrazo
Rodrigo Verdugo
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Hermanos de Prometeo:
El Festival Internacional de Poesía de Medellín es la reconciliación con el estado de gracia y con el milagro cotidiano. Y este fenómeno sucede en todos los confluyentes: en los poetas que recuperan su fe ancestral al encontrarse con la aplicación patente de la poesía y, en el público, que se alimenta cada vez con la certeza en la creación poética y la observa paciente como una posibilidad. La revelación popular de la poesía que acontece no podrá ser olvidada ya por varias generaciones de colombianos; lo corroboramos los poetas al compartir con numerosos niños que se acercaban en las lecturas a nosotros y nos referían tranquilos sus experiencias poéticas, mostrándonos su compromiso ilimitado con la poesía. En verdad, el Festival está creando un pueblo alzado en espíritu hacia la transformación poética de la realidad y eso es un trabajo que han hecho ustedes todos.
Conociendo como lo hice la dinámica interna del Festival, entiendo, ahora más desde la distancia, que sucede en ustedes una elevación heróica del ser, pues deben hacer un esfuerzo adicional para hacer posible un acontecimiento como el Festival, en las condiciones en las que éste se da. Porque quizá en la Medellín de la década del 90 se viviera un clima de violencia y desazón, pero, compañeros, tal hostilidad es ahora más obtusa en el país y en el mundo. Por eso, como implica toda paternidad, sabemos que cada vez es más difícil levantar de entre los muertos la flor que es el Festival y, hacerla perenne, una hazaña que sólo logran los héroes.
Quiero enviar un saludo de aliento y felicitación, envuelto en el vapor de la nostalgia y del amor que me une eternamente a ustedes, agradeciendo cada cosa que hacen por el mundo y recordándoles que la belleza que los impulsa a hacer cumplir esa cita del Festival cada año, viene de las más insondables praderas del espíritu, donde pastan los animales ancestrales que cuidan la luz en el mundo.
Crean en ustedes, queridos hermanos y ámense a ustedes mismos como uno lo haría si pudiera hacerlo en persona.
Hasta siempre,
Angye Gaona
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Queridos Fernando y Luis Eduardo:
Muchas gracias a los dos, por las direcciones y por los magníficos días del Festival.
Reciban los dos un abrazo grande.
Maravillada por todo lo vivido juntos.
Mercedes Roffé
*
Amigos Todos.
Quiero agradecerte Fernando por la gentileza de tu parte en invitarme, además mostrarme una tierra y gente tan bella, siempre los voy a llevar en mi espíritu originario. He llegado y contado a mi gente todo lo que viví: una experiencia inolvidable. De todo corazón muchas gracias. ¡Aún llevo a Colombia en los ojos!
Graciela Huinao, mapuche.
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Dear Fernando and Luis,
I was very happy and honoured with participating the festival... thank you for your feels and a warm hearts... And threw you I thank all Colombians....
Best regards
Hussein Habasch
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Vengo tan acumulado que desbordo,
la voz enana da batalla por la luz.
Soy y no soy en la ciudad honda pero clara,
soy y no soy en la neblina que traigo a rastras.
Yo también tengo una novia,
tan densa como virgen sin rostro.
Por esa novia aullé páginas,
por esa novia no encuentro la cabeza.
Por ella estoy aquí,
por ella río y muero.
Esa novia es Medellín.
Julio 2009.
Fer, el domingo por la noche nos dejaron varados en Panamá. Cuarenta salvadoreños dormimos en Panamá pues el avión que nos recogería por la noche se averió en Nicaragua. Llamé a mi casa. Mi mujercita creía que hablaba de Medellín, no me creía que estaba en Panamá.
Fer, volví con una gripe de caballo. Hasta este día estoy volviendo a la vida.
El festival ha crecido en todo. Desde los lectores, intérpretes, la Memoria (hermosa). El público es el mejor termómetro.
Te juro que este festival es la maduración del festival (creo que me entendés).
Va mi cariño fraterno para todos y para vos, hermano.
Mario Noel Rodríguez
*
Dear Gloria, dear Fernando, dear Luis Eduardo,
today we returned to Berlin, after three additional and very fascinating days in Cartagena. What a magnificent and bountiful week it was in Medellin - and in Cali, a trip I will not forget either! Thanks once again for everything, for the invitation, not least for your tenecity and enthusiasm.
Please give Maritta's and my best regards to everybody. My best wishes from Berlin for now, take care,
Jan Wagner
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Querido Luis Eduardo:
Solo quería darte las gracias por la experiencia del festival. Nunca en mi vida había sentido a la poesía vivir en tantas formas diferentes. Fue algo que me impactó de una manera increíble. Fueron tan intensas las vivencias allá en Medellín, que las iré asimilando día a día. Gracias por brindarnos esa oportunidad a los poetas, y por hacer posible entablar amistades con personas que vivimos realidades semejantes...Gracias por permitirme compartir con mi hijo esas vivencias...ya que él se ha convertido en un hombre del mundo...seguirá viajando y de Medellín irá a Perú a hacer una pasantía...y quien sabe a dónde le lleve la vida. Gracias por tus gentilezas hacia él, porque significó el mundo para mí.
Siento que la experiencia de Medellín fue tan fuerte que sentí que al mismo tiempo se volvió un proceso de transformación.
La organización y la hospitalidad que sentí en el Festival esta mas allá de las palabras. Gracias por ese arduo trabajo de todos.
Algunas personas del taller me han escrito, especialmente muchachos jóvenes para entablar un diálogo sobre su poesía. Y eso me da mucho gusto poder seguir con los lazos que se establecieron en el festival.
Te mando un abrazo fraterno y con la esperanza que la palabra vuelque todo su ímpetu por la paz del mundo y de Medellín,
Ivon Gordon Vailakis
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Apreciados e inolvidables amigos Fernando y Luis Eduardo: Gracias por todo! Una experiencia de vida compartida, de amistad y poesía, la que hemos vivido esos días junto a ustedes. Reciban el abrazo pleno de afecto de
Matilde Cazasola
*
Dear Lucio---of course aggie falk and i join with other poets to commend you and fernando and all the cultural workers for making our time in medellin as extraordinary as it was. the people of columbia are in our hearts for always.
if even you need recommendations for future poets from san francisco, please don't hesitate to call on me.
we send you and all the others on the team
strong abrazos---
sempre.
Jack Hirschman
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Queridos: Fernando, Gabriel Jaime, Gloria, Eduardo, Rafael, Álvaro y todo el equipo de Prometeo:
Gracias de nuevo por invitarme a ese gran festival, fue inolvidable, y felicitaciones a todos por la excelente organización, el bello libro antologico, el afecto de toda la gente. Van mis mejores deseos para ustedes y el festival. Un abrazo,
Eugenia Sánchez –Yuyin-
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Dear Fernando,
Dear Gloria,
Dear Luis
Dear poets from the 7 corners of the world thousand thanks for giving me the opportunity to come to Medellin, to experience poetry, people, poets at another level, more deep and magic... i think Medellin's public understand poetry beyond language.. my memory is full of images, places and faces... may be i could now dream in Spanish... like all other poets i think your work and efforts are great and making a difference in our world...hope to meet you again, warmly,
Fathieh Saudi
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El Telégrafo, Ecuador, Mayo 19 de 2009
