After five months of travelling across Europe and Asia, "Poems on the Underground" the major campaign promoting Polish poetry during Poland's presidency of the EU Concil returned to its starting station, crowned with a final Poetry Slam at Warsaw's Powiększenie club on the 15th of December. The poet, slammer and organiser of Spoke'n'Word festival, Wojciech Cichoń was the MC of the Warsaw finale
Following the Warsaw launch at Adam Mickiewicz Institute on the 4th of July, the campaign which comprised meetings with poets, Spoke'n'Word festival, slam poetry workshops and a haiku competition, travelled to 7 different countries across the globe. The project visited London, Paris, Madrid, Kiev, Beijing and Tokyo, promoting Polish poetry on the underground systems of the 7 capitals, and inciting international exchange among young poets. The poems were presented on advertising media in the metro, and a special exhibition was installed the European Socio-Economic Comittee Headquarters in Brussels.
In contrast to the past editions of "Poems on the Underground", this year's campaign concentrated only on Polish authors. The featured poets are representatives of different generations: from the classics such as Tadeusz Różewicz and Wisława Szymborska, to contemporaries Tomasz Różycki and Jacek Dehnal. Each city hosted a poetry evening and a meeting with such Polish rhymesters as Julia Hartwig, Ryszard Krynicki, Wojciech Bonowicz, Piotr Sommer, Jerzy Jarniewicz, Agnieszka Wolny-Hamkało, Jacek Dehnel and Adam Zdrodowski. Alongside the campaign, the capitals also hosted a local version of the Spoke’n’Word festival. The festival was prepared by Wojciech Cichoń, Bogdan Piasecki, Grzegorz Bruszewski and Weronika Lewandowska. During this event, Polish spoken word performers rans a series of poetry slams, accompanied by local poetry stars. The touring festival also featured slam workshops conducted by Polish artists.
The main goal of the "Wiersze w Metrze" / "Poems on the Underground" campaign is to popularise contemporary poetry through showcasing it on the underground and in urban spaces. The first three editions, which took part in Warsaw in 2008-2010, focused on modern European poetry. "Wiersze w Metrze" / "Poems on the Underground" campaign was initiated by the Book Institute in Warsaw and the British Council. The Warsaw campaign was inspired by similar projects taking place in Dublin, Paris, New York, Barcelona, Stockholm, Stuttgart and Moscow, and above all Poems on the Underground, which has been regularly taking place in London since 1986.
The 2011 edition of the campaign enjoyed the Honorary Patronage of the Mayor of the Capital City of Warsaw, Ms Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Radosław Sikorski.
Campaign partners included: City of Warsaw Promotion Department, Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Polish Cultural Institute in London, Embassy of the Republic of Poland in London, Polish Cultural Institute in Paris, Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Paris, Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Madrid, Polish Cultural Institute in Kiev, Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Beijing, Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Tokyo, the European Commission and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
For more information on the campaign, see: www.poetryfrompoland.com, www.wierszewmetrze.eu
Date: 15th of December, 2011, 8 p.m.
Venue: Powiększenie Club, 27 Nowy Świat, Warsaw
Organised by: Warsaw Destination Alliance
Project cofinanced by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland.
Source: Adam Mickiewicz Institute