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Jersey was represented by the wonderful Dr. Adam Perchard at the 14th annual Transpoesie international poetry festival in Brussels. As part of the festival, which celebrated surrealist poetry and linguistic diversity, Adam performed 3 long-form poems, and forged connections with many other European poets.
In this blog, they describe their experience:
“Representing Jersey in Brussels at the international poetry festival, Transpoesie, was an extraordinary, transformative experience. I met and exchanged ideas with some incredible poets from across Europe – poets writing in more than a dozen languages about war, trauma, healing, feminisms, injustices, culture, history, and the gaps between meaning and unmeaning. It was a joyful, fiercely stimulating time. The theme of surrealism provoked some gloriously experimental work, and many of us chose to lean into the trope of resistance at the heart of the surrealist movement.”
“I performed three long-form poems over the course of 48 hours – the first was giving voice to the 65 victims of Jersey’s historic witch trials, the second was ‘Meanwhile the Gays’ a polyphonic epic about homophobia and the shapes society twists gay people into, and the final poem was about the double-edged sword of queer visibility and the dangers it poses to those of us who walk the world in beautiful, defiant plumage.”
“Beautiful plumage was one of the many things I had in common with Lupin, Guernsey’s brilliant representative at the festival. We both of us arrived at the Channel Islands Brussels Office in a blaze of colour, and I loved that our islands were represented by two proud members of the LGBTQ+ community. There were all sorts of resonances in our work – activism, stigma, colour, beauty, pain – and I think a real picture emerged of the Channel Islands as vibrant, dynamic, and layered with rich histories. Lupin and I discussed forging even stronger connections between the poets of all the Channel Islands, which I think would be fantastic.”
“I have worked internationally as a performer for many years, but this experience of stepping onto an international stage with my poetry feels career-changing for me. It was incredibly powerful to have this poetic conversation that overflowed national and linguistic borders, and to zoom out on my own work and see it in the context of my peers working all across the continent. I made wonderful, lasting connections with many of my fellow poets, and have been invited to perform at a festival in Estonia next year.”
“I left Brussels bubbling with new ideas and inspiration and can’t wait to get going on my new poetry collection. I would especially like to thank our convenor Philip Meersman, for our eye-opening conversations about visual poetry, and for kindly introducing me to the world of slam poetry. And I am hugely grateful to the warm, sparky, enthusiastic team at the Channel Islands Brussels Office and to the brilliant souls at Creative Island Partnership who gave me this opportunity and who supported me so marvellously through it.”
To learn about more creative opportunities like this, join the Creative Island Partnership (CIP)
The Creative Island Partnership (CIP)
The CIP has been established by the Government as a forum for individuals interested in working together to deliver the objectives of the Arts Strategy.
The CIP provides a space for knowledge exchange, ideas generation and direct engagement with Government. The network includes leaders from:
- arts and cultural organisations
- people directly engaged and involved with the arts
- lead partners in sport, education, business, health, tourism, and the environment
Members will be a part of developing the pillars of the Arts strategy
If you’re interested in becoming a member, consider Joining the Creative Island Partnership.
You can also find out more on the Creative Island Partnership Facebook page.