Barcelona Poesia in Exeter
In April 2022 we welcomed Catalan poets to Exeter from Barcelona City of Literature, in partnership with Institut Ramon Llull, LBF’s Spotlight: Catalan Culture in the UK, and local partners Bookbag and the Devon & Exeter Institution.
Sounds of Catalan
Performance poet Maria Sevilla and musician Joan Martínez treated a big crowd at Bookbag to an evening of punkish anti-establishment Catalan poetry and English translation blended with soul-touching soundscapes.
Si una tarda un surt de cansat de fer feina i plou* is a sound poetry show created by Maria Sevilla, one of the most promising voices of Catalan poetry. Inspired by Mark Fisher and Remedios Zafra, Sevilla explores her criticism of society's attachment to productivity in four movements. Inspired by the work of other Catalan poets, Sevilla mixes her poetry with music played by Joan Martínez.
*The translation of this wonderful phrase is, "If one afternoon someone is leaving work tired, and it rains," a feeling we are very familiar with here in England.
Bookbag stayed open for browsing, with a selection of Catalan poets and writers in translation from publisher Fum d’Estampa Press.
Watch a video of the performance below!
Maps of Desire: Travelling through Translation & Literature
Manuel Forcano is one of the most celebrated Catalan poets. A great traveller & scholar of the Middle East, his poetry evokes landscapes and explores the history of love & desire in this region.
Alongside Dr. Richard Mansell from the University of Exeter, and his translator in the UK Anna Crowe, Manuel discussed his poetry anthology, Maps of Desire, Catalan language and culture, and travel in the gorgeous Outer Library at the Devon & Exeter Institution.
He gave readings of his poetry in Catalan, alongside readings in English by Anna Crowe.
