You cannot perceive poetry or the world without empathy. In Jelgava, poets are gathered at the “Page Break” festival / Raksts

Despite the rain, the third international poetry festival “Page Break” started with a poetry walk. As usual, it gathers poets from Latvia and other countries of the world in Jelgava, this year presenting the works of 14 authors in 11 languages ​​to those interested in poetry.

One of the authors is the poet Pierre Vanclair from France, who believes: “Performance is very important, because it is a way to make poetry alive and understandable. If you read it while walking, walking through the city streets, you have the opportunity to build a bridge between poems and to their readers. It is a way for the poet to be in touch with the world.”

Latvian poet Kārlis Vērdiņš adds about the presence and traditions of poetry in Latvia: “We have our old, dear “Poetry Days”, which is already an old tradition, but where foreign poets always remain in the background.

This is the poetry festival where foreign poets are directly in focus. Therefore, it is an opportunity to get to know the new and interesting things that are happening right now in poetry in different foreign countries.”

Poet from Afghanistan Ramin Mazhar notes: “At a time when there are many wars in the world, there are systems and political regimes that try to distance people from each other, we need to be given the opportunity to talk about our experiences and feelings. Therefore, I think this festival is a great opportunity to do so.”

“I read my poems about women in Afghanistan. For the last two and a half years, the situation there is bad, especially for women. The world quickly forgets about it. So this was an important opportunity for me to be their voice, to remember these people, to respect their fight against ” The Taliban” and their struggle for freedom,” says Ramin Mazhar.

The theme that will run through all the events of the festival is empathy. “Taking into account the geopolitical situation, taking into account the mutual relations that often get stuck, taking into account some things where we don’t understand, empathy is absolutely necessary for us every day. It’s never too much to remind about it,” says the director of the “Page Break” festival. poetess Madara Gruntmane-Dujana.

Andre Nafiss-Saheli, a poet of Italian-Iranian origin, agrees: “Empathy is becoming a radical concept nowadays. It is one of those words that is used too often, so it has lost its meaning. Nowadays, people lack empathy. However, without it, poetry cannot be fully grasped.”

The festival with various activities will continue until Saturday, April 27.

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