Program

Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

Workshop: Storytelling & Poetry

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

Dag: Sunday Type: Workshop
Presentation: Poetic Sequences

A new generation of sign language poets presents their performances
Poets:
Dag: Sunday Type: Performance

Interpreter NGT/Transcription Interpreter
This event features a sign language interpreter
Words on the Street Art Tour ‘The Beautiful South’

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

Dag: Sunday Type: Tour
Short Reading: Pia Tafdrup & Radmila Petrović

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

Dag: Sunday Type: Reading
Uitreiking Johan Polak Poëzieprijs

Which poetry collection of the past three years will win the most prestigious poetry prize in the Netherlands?
Poets:
Dutch

Dag: Sunday Type: Collaboration
Translating Together: A Live Experiment

Translate a poem together with professional translators
Poets:
English

Dag: Sunday Type: Program
Meet the Foyer

Discover the vibrant heart of the festival
Poets:
Dutch

Dag: Sunday Type: Program

Interpreter NGT/Transcription Interpreter
This event features a sign language interpreter
The Signed Poetry Quiz

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

Interpreter NGT/Transcription Interpreter
This event features a sign language interpreter
Rap als Poëtische Praktijk

Hip-hop researcher Kim Dankoor on how poetry and hip-hop connect
Poets:
Dutch

Dag: Sunday Type: Collaboration
Main Reading: Iya Kiva & Raúl Cisneros

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

Dag: Sunday 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 Type: Performance

Interpreter NGT/Transcription Interpreter
This event features a sign language interpreter
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 Type: Collaboration

Interpreter NGT/Transcription Interpreter
This event features a sign language interpreter
Main Performance: Zoë McWhinney & Rafael Evitan Grombelka

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

Dag: Sunday Type: Performance

Interpreter NGT/Transcription Interpreter
This event features a sign language interpreter
Mezrab: Storytelling Showcase

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

Dag: Sunday Type: Program
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 Type: Panel
The Poetry Barber

Get a fresh cut and share your story at the Poetry Barbershop
Poets:
Dutch

Dag: Sunday Type: Program
Woorden Worden Zinnen #70

We close off the festival with international and Rotterdam talent, plus barbecue, music, and you!
Poets:
Lynthia Julius (ZAF)
Dario Goldbach (NLD)
Oumaima Yahiaoui (NLD)
+2
Dutch

Dag: Sunday 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 Type: Performance

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

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

Dag: Sunday Type: Reading

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