The aim of this event is to contribute to the return of poetry to the public space, to spark and unite original actions so that poetry is accessible to the largest number of people. Informing, advising, training, supporting projects, linking, promoting the work of living authors, publishers, artists… this is the mission of the Printemps des Poètes.
Its actions are based on a strong belief: contemporary poetic creation is enriched by its extraordinary diversity, and it is also the place where the language is kept at its highest degree of intensity.
Literature is at the heart of the cultural policy led by Christian Estrosi, and in this spirit, Raoul Mille, a writer, was appointed for the first time in Nice as a delegate for literature and the fight against illiteracy, whose task is to create new momentum around books, particularly for young audiences.
It should be reminded that in the same context, the City of Nice hosts a writer once a month who shares his love of words, books, and the French language with young people in difficulty. This operation to combat illiteracy, “Reading for All,” has been a great success since September 2008.
Program:
Saturday, March 14:
From 3 pm to 7 pm: Art galleries open up to poetry
A selection of poems chosen by musicians and visual artists. “Our Friend Jean de la Fontaine” created by Jean-Louis Chales and Elisabeth Vanthomme; texts by Boris Vian and Michel Seyrat will be performed to a jazz musical background.
3 pm: Ferrero Gallery (6, rue du Congrès), “Our Friend Jean de la Fontaine” by Jean-Louis Chales and Elisabeth Vanthomme
3 pm: Against All Odds, Poetic Performance at the Louis-Nucéra Library, auditorium (2, Place Yves Klein)
4 pm: La Moma (5 avenue des Mousquetaires): texts by Boris Vian, Dali, Mallarmé, Paul Valéry, Baudelaire, Elie Faure, letters from Vincent Van Gogh to his brother Theo, by Laurent Barat accompanied by the Ad Lib Quartet
5 pm: La Moma “Our Friend Jean de la Fontaine” by Jean-Louis Chales and Elisabeth Vanthomme
6 pm: Ferrero Gallery: texts by Michel Seyrat and Boris Vian, accompanied by the musicians of So What Company.
From Monday, March 9 to Monday, March 16: Poets of the Mediterranean
Café poetry every afternoon from 3:30 pm to 5 pm: Reading of poems by actors in the original language of the authors as well as in French. From Spain to Italy, from Morocco to Egypt: discover the great Mediterranean poets in an original, playful, and interactive way. Reservation required.
Mediterranean University Center (65, Promenade des Anglais)
Thursday, March 12, 2009, at 3:30 pm – Persia:
– Poetic concert on the theme of Tales of the Arabian Nights
Texts in French read by Jean-Louis Chales – Professor of the Drama Art Class at the Nice Conservatory; Reading of Iranian poetry in Persian by Zia Mirabdolbaghi – Professor of digital percussion at the Nice Conservatory and international concert artist – and Persian lute concert, percussion, and singing by Zia Mirabdolbaghi and Sina Mirabdolbaghi – multi-instrumentalist percussionist
Friday, March 13, 2009, at 3:30 pm – Italy:
– Michelangelo poet – discovering another Michelangelo
By Véronique Mérieux – Lecturer in the Italian Department at the University of Nice
Monday, March 16 at 4 pm – Greece:
– Homer and poetry: Stories and legends
By François Rebuffat – Honorary Professor of Greek history and archaeology
