World Poets in the International Costa Rica Poetry Festival

For the past sixteen years, the International Costa Rica Poetry Festival has enhanced the presence of poetry in the country’s capital; San Jose, and other cities of the country, leading up to the ocean tortoise city of Tortuguero. Audience has interacted with the event in its main cultural sectors of Costa Rica, as well as with a qualitative audience; in universities, schools and theaters, among thousands of poetry lovers. The festival has contributed to the revival of poetic activities and workshops, maintaining contact with important Latin American and other continents poets; modernizing their techniques and concepts. The festival opens at 4:00 pm on the 4th of November, and ends on the 12th of the same month.

In addition to the live presence of poetry, on the stage, the poetry house headed by the poet Norberto Salinas, in collaboration with the University of San Jose, publish the poets’ volumes in Spanish, and the poets sign their copies of the audience of poetry, while reading their poems in the language of the country.

Susanna Povida Solorzano, the general producer of the festival, said that the guest poets works will be published including the poetry of: Fernando Rendón (Colombia), Alex Pausides (Cuba), Válerie Forgues (Canada), Roberto Resándiz (Mexico), Berona Teomitzi (Mexico), Marvin Gaórcía (Guatemala), Ashraf Aboul-Yazid (Egypt), Oscar Saavedra (Chile), Zoe Skoulding (United Kingdom), H S Shivaprakash (India), Luis Thenon (Canada-Argentina), Hemant Divate (India), Fadir Delgado (Colombia), Lil Picado (Costa Rica), and Luis Chacón (Costa Rica). Susana added that books could be bought as a full package for the public, to reach the door of their home or office, and that the proceeds will be donated to libraries and schools in the country.

On the other hand, Ashraf Aboul-Yazid will also attend the International Costa Rica Poetry Festival. His book, the Whisper of the Sea, celebrating 30 years since the publication, will be published in the festival session in Spanish, translated by Dr. Nadia Gamal El Din. She also has translated the poet’s selections issued at the 2010 session of the festival (A Street in Cairo).