Program

Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

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Workshop: Sign Language Performance

Create your own performance in sign language (with Rafael Evitan Grombelka) (Separate ticket required)
Poets:
Rafael Evitan Grombelka (DEU)
Dag: Sunday
Tijd: 11:00 – 12:30
Type: Workshop

Interpreter NGT/Transcription Interpreter
This event features a sign language interpreter
Ecopoetics: The Voice of the Street

Ecopoets Aase Berg and Dominique de Groen let the street speak for itself.
Poets:
Aase Berg (SWE)
Dominique De Groen (BEL)
English

Dag: Sunday
Tijd: 12:30 – 13:15
Type: Program
Poetry International x Hiphophuis: Street Feminism

What does feminism sound like in hip hop? And what role does poetry play within it?
Poets:
Sherr
Ella John
Milka Martins
+2
Dutch

Dag: Sunday
Tijd: 12:30 – 13:30
Type: Collaboration
Main Reading: Raúl Cisneros & Iya Kiva

Twee eigenzinnige dichters dragen hun beste werk voor (host: Jelle van Riet)
Poets:
Raúl Cisneros (PER)
Iya Kiva (UKR)
English

Dag: Sunday
Tijd: 12:45 – 13:45
Type: Reading
Workshop: Storytelling & Poetry

Sharpen your story with guidance from storyteller Sahand Sahebdivan (Separate ticket required)
Poets:
Mezrab (NLD)
English

Dag: Sunday
Tijd: 13:00 – 15:00
Type: Workshop
Presentation: Poetic Sequences

A new generation of sign language poets presents their performances
Poets:
Dag: Sunday
Tijd: 13:30 – 14:15
Type: Performance

Interpreter NGT/Transcription Interpreter
This event features a sign language interpreter
Translating Together: A Live Experiment

Translate a poem together with professional translators
Poets:
English

Dag: Sunday
Tijd: 14:00 – 15:00
Type: Program
Street Poetry bike ride – Rotterdam South

Join poet Wessel Klootwijk on a poetry discovery bike ride
Poets:
Dutch

Dag: Sunday
Tijd: 14:00 – 15:30
Type: Tour
Meet the Foyer

Discover the vibrant heart of the festival
Poets:
Dutch

Dag: Sunday
Tijd: 14:15 – 14:30
Type: Program

Interpreter NGT/Transcription Interpreter
This event features a sign language interpreter
Uitreiking Johan Polak Poëzieprijs

Festive programme featuring winner Sarah de Koning, Sasja Janssen, Iduna Paalman, and others
Poets:
Iduna Paalman (NLD)
Sarah de Koning
Dutch

Dag: Sunday
Tijd: 14:15 – 15:00
Type: Collaboration
Short Reading: Radmila Petrović & Pia Tafdrup

Bite-size readings by two festival poets
Poets:
Radmila Petrović (SRB)
Pia Tafdrup (DNK)
English

Dag: Sunday
Tijd: 14:15 – 14:45
Type: Reading
Het gedicht is een bericht

Unveiling the very first poetic line in sign language on a Rotterdam waste truck
Poets:
Sam Onclin (NLD)
Boaz Blume (NLD)
Dutch

Dag: Sunday
Tijd: 14:30 – 15:00
Type: Collaboration

Interpreter NGT/Transcription Interpreter
This event features a sign language interpreter
in m’n buurt

Performance packed with young talent, curated by youth Poet Laureate Oumaima Yahiaoui
Poets:
Anissa El Mazouzi
Oumaima Yahiaoui (NLD)
Lelie Danesh
Dutch

Dag: Sunday
Tijd: 15:15 – 16:00
Type: Collaboration
The Signed Poetry Quiz

A quiz that will make you see and listen differently
Poets:
Dag: Sunday
Tijd: 15:15 – 15:45
Type: Program

Interpreter NGT/Transcription Interpreter
This event features a sign language interpreter
Main Reading: Kreek Daey Ouwens & Nisrine Mbarki Ben Ayad

Two distinctive poets share their best work (host: Jelle van Riet)
Poets:
Kreek Daey Ouwens (NLD)
Nisrine Mbarki Ben Ayad (NLD)
Dutch

Dag: Sunday
Tijd: 15:30 – 16:30
Type: Reading
Keynote: Deafness as a Lens

Mirthe Berentsen on how deafness can change your view of the world
Poets:
Mirthe Berentsen (NLD)
Dag: Sunday
Tijd: 16:00 – 16:30
Type: Performance

Interpreter NGT/Transcription Interpreter
This event features a sign language interpreter
The Poetry Barber ft. Benzokarim

Come listen in while spoken word artist Benzokarim gets a fresh look from a Rotterdam barber
Poets:
Benzokarim (NLD)
Ivan Winter (NLD)
Dutch

Dag: Sunday
Tijd: 16:30 – 17:00
Type: Program
Mezrab: Storytelling Showcase

Three experienced storytellers merge poetry and storytelling
Poets:
Mezrab (NLD)
English

Dag: Sunday
Tijd: 17:00 – 18:00
Type: Program
Main Performance: Rafael Evitan Grombelka & Zoë McWhinney

Where sign language, theatre, and poetry meet
Poets:
Zoë McWhinney (GBR)
Rafael Evitan Grombelka (DEU)
Dutch

Dag: Sunday
Tijd: 17:00 – 17:45
Type: Performance

Interpreter NGT/Transcription Interpreter
This event features a sign language interpreter
Street Poetry & Activism

Travel through the streets (and street poems) of Lima, Istanbul, and Rome
Poets:
Kreek Daey Ouwens (NLD)
Raúl Cisneros (PER)
Hasan Gök (NLD)
+1
English

Dag: Sunday
Tijd: 17:30 – 18:30
Type: Panel
Codarts x Poetry International: Poetic Compositions

Codarts students transform festival poets’ work into new musical pieces
Poets:
Melanie Mununggurr (AUS)
Nadine Rypkema (NLD)
English

Dag: Sunday
Tijd: 18:00 – 18:30
Type: Music
Woorden Worden Zinnen #70

We close off the festival with international and Rotterdam talent, music, and you!
Poets:
Lynthia Julius (ZAF)
Dario Goldbach (NLD)
Oumaima Yahiaoui (NLD)
+5
Dutch

Dag: Sunday
Tijd: 18:00 – 19:30
Type: Program
Showcase: Ways of Seeing

Sign language, Visual Vernacular & spoken word share the stage
Poets:
Zoë McWhinney (GBR)
Mirthe Berentsen (NLD)
Sogand Afshar (AFG+NLD)
+1
Dag: Sunday
Tijd: 18:30 – 19:15
Type: Performance

Interpreter NGT/Transcription Interpreter
This event features a sign language interpreter
The Last Poem

The very last poem of Poetry International Festival 2026!
Poets:
English

Dag: Sunday
Tijd: 19:15 – 19:30
Type: Reading

Interpreter NGT/Transcription Interpreter
This event features a sign language interpreter