The Dominican Republic Will Host 5th International Santo Domingo Poetry Festival 2018

Some 40 poets from 11 Latin America and European nations are expected to participate, including the Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo, November 7, 2018 – The Ministry of Culture announced that the Dominican Republic will be the host of the 5th International Santo Domingo Poetry Festival 2018. This year the Festival will be dedicated to Tomás Hernández Franco, one of the country’s most distinguished poet, narrator, journalist and essayist.

The poetic activity is scheduled to be held from November 19-25 in different venues throughout the country, specifically in the capital city of Santo Domingo, as well as in Santiago – the country’s second largest city – the southwest province of Azua and the eastern region province of San Pedro de Macorís.

Festival organizers announced that some 40 poets from 11 nations, including Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Cuba, Italia, Spain, Haiti, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, have confirmed their participation.

Renowned international poets, such as Valerio Magrelli (Italy), Homero Aridjis (Mexico), and Andrés Sánchez Robayna (Spain) – as well as Myriam Moscona (Mexico), Luis Alberto Crespo (Venezuela), Mara Pastor (Puerto Rico), Juan Manuel Roca (Colombia), Isella Carrera Lamadrid (Peru) and Mercedes Roffé (Argentina) – will also participate.

Participants from Haiti have also confirmed their participation, including Gahston Saint-Fleur and Samuel Gregoire. The latter currently resides in the Dominican Republic. Alberto Garrido will represent Cuba and Marianela Medrano will proudly represent Dominican poets from the diaspora.

The Dominican counterparts will be represented by various generations of poets. This year, however, organizers have coordinated the participation of all Dominican poets who have received the National Literature Award, such as Mateo Morrison, Jeanette Miller, José Mármol, Tony Raful and Ángela Hernández.

The Festival agenda will include poetry readings in various cultural centers, libraries, universities, public venues and schools. There will also be special poetry recitals, workshops, conferences, television appearances, musical events, as well as the launching of books and book-signing ceremonies.

The 2018 Festival is sponsored by the following institutions: the Mayor’s Office of San Pedro de Macorís and Santiago, “Casa Quién,” and CERTV, the country’s State-owned television station. Also, the Spanish and Italian Embassies, the National Library Pedro Henríquez Ureña, the Dominican Republic’s Children and Young Adults Library, the Ministry of Education, the TV program “Cita Cultural,” the local private school “Colegio Babeque Secundaria,” “Casa de Arte,” and the “Festival de Arte Vivo en Santiago.” Also, the Iberoamericana University (UNIBE), one of the country’s top universities.

The members of the organizing committee are the Minister of Culture, Eduardo Selmán, president; the Vice Minister of Creativity and Popular Participation, Cayo Claudio Espinal, and León Félix Batista, Festival director.

In Honor of Tomás Hernández Franco
The 5th International Festival is dedicated to Tomás Hernández Franco (1904-1952), Dominican poet and essayist. Born in the north coast town of Tamboril, he dedicated most of his life to literature. His best known work is Yelidá, a great epic poem. In San Salvador he published the following poetry books: Apuntes sobre poesía popular y negra en las Antillas (1942); Canciones del Litoral Alegre (1948): Síntesis y Magnitud de un Problema, (1943); the short story Cibao (1942), just to mention a few.