Poetic punk gala (postponed to autumn 2021)

Poetry spans every extreme of human existence, from ugly and angry, through muted and miserable, to joyous and jubilant. Seven poets and two musicians meet this evening in a lyrical world off the map. Topographer for the evening is translator and poetry-lover Eira Søyseth. 

Participants include the poet whose debut attracted the greatest attention last year, Karoline Brændjord with Jeg vil våkne til verden. From Sápmi (Land of the Sami) comes Tromsø resident Mary Ailonieida Sombán Mary, topical with the collection Leve blant reptiler. 

Others on stage are Lillehammer-based Fatemeh Ekhtesari, a selection of whose poems appeared in Norwegian translation in Vi overlever ikke during 2020, Pedro Carmona-Alvarez, Chilean Bergen resident and author of Inventarium, and Henning Bergsvåg, whose Dette er ikke et stille sted work appeared in 2020. 

Steinar Opstad and Øivind Hånes are involved in a project with poets from a number of countries, and will be presenting poems by imprisoned Kurdish poet Ilham Comak. Opstad will also read his own poetry. Musicians Sara Marielle Gaup and Hamid Sakhizada contribute yoik (traditional Sami singing) and Afghan music.

This event will be in Norwegian.

The event will be streamed to YouTube.