AUSTRALIAN POETRY CENTRE and MELBOURNE PEN CENTRE

ANNOUNCE THE

31st FRANCO-ANGLAIS POETRY FESTIVAL

OCTOBER 8th to OCTOBER 12th
Melbourne, Australia

AT GLENFERN, ALLIANCE FRANCAISE, MELBOURNE ATHENAEUM

LIBRARY, JOLIMONTEXPRESSO CAFE, THE ATRIUM,
FEDERATION SQUARE and ALICE & CO

ALL SESSIONS FREE

With four days of poetry readings in French, English and other languages, music, workshops, dialogues, discussions, performances and food, Paris’ Franco-anglais Poetry Festival takes place at the Marche de Poesie, Place Saint Sulpice each year and is part of the Foire Saint Germain which began in the Middle Ages as a free festival, open to all. http://www.festrad.com

This is the Paris festival’s first visit to the southern hemisphere and the Melbourne festival committee aims to continue the tradition of a free festival promoting the idea of Melbourne as not only a ‘City of Literature’ but a ‘City of Literary Translation’  celebrating and sharing, through translation, words and music, the stories of our French and Spanish speaking communities as well as those of our visitors. http://www.australianpoetry.org.au and http://www.melbournepen.com.au

International Poets: Visiting poets are all much published and internationally acclaimed:
Anne Bihan (New Caledonia), Hughes Labrusse (France) Marie-Andrée Lamontagne (Quebec), Judith Bishop (Australia), Toh Hsien Min (Singapore), Dominique Hecq (Belgium/Australia), Philip Hammial (Australia), Gerry Turcotte (Quebec/Australia), Jean-Pierre Vallotton (Switzerland), José Luis Reina Palazón (Spain), Javier Jover Jaume (Spain, publisher), Jacques Rancourt (France, Festival director).

Publications: La Traductiere – festival revue: thanks to Jacques Rancourt, the festival’s annual revue La Traductière will present ‘21 Australian Poets Today’ (an English/French anthology) and Spanish publisher Javier Jover Jaume will launch a collection of Australian poetry edited by Luke Davies and translated by José Luis Reina Palazón, also present at the festival. Spanish consul Miguel Utray

Prose sculpture for local poets: local poets have contributed to this year’s festival theme “Prose Sculpture: Writing within Writing” and their works will be displayed at the festival. Prose Sculpture art and poetry from the Paris festival will be featured at Alice & Co. from 6th to 12th October.

Publishers’ Fair at Glenfern & Spanish/French/English event at Fed. Square
Saturday 11th October promises the fun of the fair with tents set up in the grounds of Glenfern for a Poetry Publishers’ Market and Food Fair with music and poetry indoors. During the afternoon (the eve of the Spanish National Day) Spanish and French poets and musicians will gather at the Atrium, Fed Square to celebrate.

Music: festival musicians include Tony Gould, Fiona and John Thorn, James Hullick and Berni Janssen

Major sponsors are CAL, Melbourne PEN, the Australian Poetry Centre, AALITRA
For addresses of venues and full details please contact

Teresa Bell