The 16th edition of the international poetry festival Transpoesie returns to Brussels and Ghent on the occasion of the European Day of Languages, celebrated each year on 26 September. 

This year’s edition, Transpoesie – Where Voices Meet, brings together poets from across Europe whose work is shaped by place, language, memory and movement. The festival explores poetry emerging from borderlands, migration, rural and peripheral regions, diasporic experiences and multilingual realities.

Translation is at the heart of the programme, both as a means of connecting languages and as a creative practice in its own right. The festival invites audiences into a space where different languages do not disappear into one another, but resonate side by side.

At the invitation of the Polish Institute in Brussels, Polish poet Agata Puwalska and Ukrainian poet Daria Lysenko will take part in this year’s edition of the festival. Agata Puwalska is a distinctive voice in contemporary Polish poetry, while Daria Lysenko’s work explores themes of displacement and the experience of living between languages and cultures.

The poets will take part in several events in Brussels and Ghent alongside other participants in the festival. Their work will be presented through poetry readings and performances in their original languages. The programme will also include an interactive Writing on Request event, inviting the public to engage directly with the authors, as well as a round-table discussion exploring translation and the festival’s central themes.

Agata Puwalska is a Polish poet and author of five collections of poetry: her debut, Haka!, is expressionistic and exuberant, marked by an abundance of images, tonal shifts and words borrowed from other languages. Paranoia Bebop draws on the rhythms of jazz to evoke what Puwalska has called “an atmosphere of restriction and fear.” Worlds Opening works through fragments, quick leaps and a polyphony of voices and perspectives, while Alis Ubbo, particularly its long title poem, adopts a fluid, lyrical rhythm inspired by the movement of the sea. Her work has been nominated for the Wisława Szymborska Award and the Gdynia Literary Award. She is a two-time winner of the Krakow UNESCO City of Literature Award and works as a translator from Portuguese to Polish. Her poetry has been translated into Ukrainian, English, Spanish, Danish and Latvian.

Daria Lysenko is a Ukrainian poet, writer, art historian and illustrator, born in Kyiv and now based in The Hague. Her poetry explores displacement and the experience of living between countries, languages and cultures. Her first collection, I Have No Explanation for This, was published in Croatia in 2017. Her latest book, Ik hoor dat je in Nederland bent… (I Hear That You Are in the Netherlands…, 2025), published in Ukrainian and Dutch, is a poetic diary of life in the Netherlands after 2022, combining themes of displacement and war with irony, humour and curiosity. Lysenko previously worked at the National Art Museum of Ukraine and co-founded Reading Kyiv, an award-winning literary project. In 2025, she became a member of the Croatian Writers’ Association.

Both poets will take part in the following events alongside other participants in Transpoesie 2026:

Thursday, 17 September

Poetry Performances
20:00
Bibliotheek De Krook
Platteberg 11, 9000 Ghent
The poets will present a reading or performance of their work. The poems will be performed in their original languages, with a focus on the text, its sound and interpretation.

Friday, 18 September

Writing on Request
14:00
Royal Galleries of Saint-Hubert, Mokafé Terrace
Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, Galerie du Roi 5, 1000 Brussels
An interactive poetry event bringing the poets directly into contact with passers-by and visitors. After a short conversation, participants can ask a poet to write a brief, personalized poem for them on the spot.

Round-table Discussion
16:00
Halles de Schaerbeek, Poetik Bazar
Rue Royale Sainte-Marie 22, 1030 Brussels
The discussion with invited poets will be followed by a Q&A focusing on translation and the main themes of the festival.
Register here

Poetry Performances
17:00–19:00
Halles de Schaerbeek, Poetik Bazar
Rue Royale Sainte-Marie 22, 1030 Brussels
As part of the main Poetik Bazar programme, all participating poets will present their work. Each poet will perform one poem in their original language.
Register here

More information about Transpoesie 2026:
www.transpoesie.eu

Free admission to all events.