In the last few weeks/months I've been fortunate to participate in some wonderful international events - something I could never have imagined in the pre-lockdown, pre-Zoom days.
In April, I celebrated International Women's Day with friends from across the globe, with a poetry reading coordinated by Xanthi Hondrou-Hill at Apeiron Art:
Apeironart - Buy and Sell Art Online - Creative Diversity
A beautiful mix of subjects and themes - from the cultural oppression of women through to portrayals of Mother Earth, goddesses, and reflections on femininity and motherhood. My poem 'Conception' was featured:
I also took part in my second International Poetry Festival, run by Gobinda Biswas, in India - a tour de force of poetry featuring writers from all over the world. A couple of weeks ago I took part in a beautiful cross-cultural celebration of Easter, Passover, Holi and the coming of Spring. It was organised by my good friend Pankhuri Sinha - an amazing, dynamic poet in her own right - who invited poets from across the nations to celebrate in verse. Most poems were read in their original languages as well as English translation. Both were wonderfully uplifting events, an insight into many different cultural traditions, and a testament to the power of poetry to break cultural barriers and bring unity, especially during these difficult Covid times when we have been separated physically from friends, family and loved ones.
Another recent highlight was the Rockport International Poetry Festival, from Rockport, USA. I was invited via Bob Whelan, who had remembered Talisman Spoken Word writers from the time some of our poets visited Boston, Massachusetts to participate in a cross-cultural exchange with Merrimac Mic poets. This resulted in two books: Ten Swansea Writers (publ. Talisman Arts) and The River Widens, a joint anthology with the Merrimac poets.
The Rockport Festival was an incredible event, featuring a full 24-hours of poetry from all over the globe! It also collaborated with the Coracle Europe Poetry Festival (run by my friend Dominic Williams, from Poems and Pints Carmarthen), who offered the Rockport Poetry Festival on April 18 as Day 2 of their presentation. Some of their presentations can be seen here:
Poets without Borders with Coracle Europe (part 1) - YouTube
Poets without Borders with Coracle Europe (part 2) - YouTube
Last week, my friend and co-organiser of Talisman Spoken Word, David Churchill, was the featured poet for the Merrimac Mic writers group, in Massachusetts, USA. I logged on at 7.30pm US time, (which was half past midnight in the UK!), together with Alice Sullivan, also of Talisman. It was great to 'meet' our exchange poets on the other side of the Atlantic, especially host David Somerset, who I had heard so much about from the other poets who'd visited five years ago. The standard of the poetry was excellent, and David's feature was a treat. His book, Volcano Moon, is published by Talisman Arts, and we hope to have copies available for purchase online soon.
Finally, I took part in my second radio podcast with the incredible American poet Rick Spisack's Poets of the East show. This was my first live broadcast, so somewhat nerve-wracking, though Rick is such a welcoming host he very quickly put me at ease:
It has been such a treat to meet so many poets from all over the world (and well worth staying up til 2.30am for, though I wouldn't recommend doing it every night!) I feel fortunate and privileged to be in contact with so many supremely creative and talented people.
Most of all it has taught me the power of words. Words really are magical. They can bring people together, across cultures, across nations, and bring hope even in the most trying of times.
I have met so many inspirational figures - people who, like me, are passionate about the written and spoken word. Our voices rise together, strengthening one another as we share mutual encouragement and support. Long may it continue!
