Barcelona will host its annual poetry festival, Barcelona Poesia, from 14 to 21 May, with events scheduled across the city and its main hub at the Verger del Museu Marès. This year's theme, "Every poem is a gaze", reflects the critical and diverse perspectives of poets, according to co-curator Manuel Forcano.

Forcano, who organises the event with poet Anna Gual, explained that "every poet has their world and their voice and touches on the themes that make them write verses. Every poet beats on different things. The poet is a critical mind, who sees the world, reflects on it, digests it." The festival's poster, featuring an eye formed by many birds, pays homage to Blai Bonet, one of the poets celebrated this year on the centenary of his birth.

Opening and Closing Events

The festival will open on Thursday, 14 May at 7pm at Sala Paral·lel 62. Poet Marta Pessarrodona will deliver the opening address, "The word opens the world", followed by a recital of her poetry by Maria Dolors Coll Magrí and Andreu Gomila. The Valencian group Versonautas, with musician Roqui Albero and artist Anna Sanahuja, will close the inaugural event.

The closing ceremony, known as the Nit del Palau (Palace Night), will be the 41st International Poetry Festival of Barcelona. It will take place on Thursday, 21 May at 8pm at the Palau de la Música Catalana. This year's event will highlight poets from the East and South, regions less represented in previous editions. Participants include Turkish poet Adnan Özer, Indian poet and activist Mamta Sagar, South African poet Koleka Putuma, and Ethiopian poet Bewketu Seyoum.

Catalan and Spanish poets will also feature prominently. Míriam Reyes from Ourense, a Barcelona-based translator and winner of the 2025 Spanish National Poetry Prize, will participate. Eduard Sanahuja, honorary professor at the University of Barcelona and founder of the Barcelona Poetry Classroom, and Susanna Rafart, a highly awarded poet, novelist, and playwright, are also scheduled to appear.

Commemorations and Tributes

Barcelona Poesia will honour several poets this year. Blai Bonet, Joan Alcover, and Clementina Arderiu will be celebrated through various events and performances. The festival will also remember Francesc Garriga and Màrius Sampere, two beloved poets who have passed away.

To mark the centenary of Joan Alcover's death, a recital titled "The breaking waves of the infinite: land and pain in Joan Alcover" will be held on 15 May at 6pm at the Verger del Museu Marès. Biel Mesquida, recipient of the Catalan Letters Honour Prize, and actress Berta Giraut will recite, guided by editor Ignasi Moreta.

Clementina Arderiu, fifty years after her death, will be remembered in the recital-concert "I give two faces to the river" on 20 May at 7pm at El Born. This event will feature young voices including Ria Dueñas, Auró Vernet, Enric Massip, Carme Alegre, Víctor Inskipp, and Llull Riba.

Blai Bonet's poetry will be celebrated throughout the afternoon of Sunday, 17 May with three events. At 5:30pm, the Casa Toni Catany, the home and studio of the Mallorcan photographer and friend of Bonet, will host the recital "Blai Bonet: the eyes and the gaze". Mallorcan poets Carles Rebassa, Miquel Bezares, and Glòria Julià will perform. Due to limited capacity, reservations are required. The same afternoon, El Born will host the concert-recital "Polsim de dol" with the group Ölivias and poet Joan Rotger Julià at 8pm. The tribute to Blai Bonet will conclude at El Born at 9pm with "El verd també era", a scenic biopic featuring Clara Fiol, Miquel Aguiló, Aina Crespí, Maya Triay, Mariona Jaume, Joan Vallbona, and Juanro Campos, combining gesture, music, word, and dance in collaboration with the University of the Balearic Islands.

Featured Poets and Performances

The festival will also include the awards ceremony for the Jocs Florals de Barcelona Poetry Prize, presented to Martí Sales i Sariola for his book Descripció del món. This event will take place on 18 May at 6pm at the Saló de Cent of Barcelona City Council. The book, published by Godall Edicions, will be available in bookshops in June.

Dolors Miquel, a prominent Catalan poet, will present the recital "The theatre of your eyes" on 17 May at 7pm at El Born, accompanied by poets Jordi Cornudella and David Castillo.

La Pedrera will host the recital-concert "The poetry of the Nabis. Recital of French poetry" as part of the ongoing exhibition dedicated to the Nabis painting group. Actor Josep Maria Flotats will recite in French, with live music from The Rest Project trio, featuring Maria Florea, Lara Fernández, and Daniel Claret.

Connecting poetry with visual arts, the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB) will hold a recital of Mercè Rodoreda's poetry within the programme of the exhibition "Mercè Rodoreda, a forest". Elvira Prado-Fabregat will perform, with soundscapes by Carles Viarnès, on 18 May at 7pm.

CaixaFòrum will present the recital "Venus and Adonis. Poem by W. Shakespeare" on 19 May at 8pm, featuring actors Emma Vilarasau and Jordi Bosch, with musical direction by Lluís Claret. Additionally, singer Marina Rossell will perform with musician Xavi Lloses at El Born on 20 May at 9pm.

International Collaborations

The programme includes three notable international events. The garden of the Fundació Muñoz Ramonet will host the recital "Four cardinal points of the gaze" on 15 May at 7pm, featuring poets Julian Zhara (Italy), Hug Casals (Catalan Countries), Teresa Sperling (Germany), and Jérôme Pinel (France). This event is a collaboration with the EUNIC Cluster of Barcelona, the European network of national cultural relations organisations and institutes.

At the Ateneu Barcelonès, the recital "Looking from outside" will feature poets invited by the European poetry festival network Versopolis. Fatemeh Ekhtesari, an Iranian poet, writer, and independent filmmaker based in Norway, will present her work that questions limits on the body and freedom of expression. Hamed Abboud, a Syrian poet based in Austria, will offer an ironic and moving perspective on exile and rebuilding life away from home.

The full programme is available for consultation.