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SUMMARY:Transpoesie 2026 – Where Voices Meet
UID:https://instytutpolski.pl/brussels/en/2026/09/03/transpoesie-2026-where-voices-meet/
LOCATION:
DTSTAMP:20260917
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Warsaw:20260917
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Warsaw:20260918
DESCRIPTION: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 SeptemberPoetry Performances20:00 Bibliotheek De Krook
Platteberg 11, 9000 GhentThe 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 Request14:00Royal Galleries of Saint-Hubert, Mokafé
TerraceGaleries Royales Saint-Hubert, Galerie du Roi 5, 1000 BrusselsAn
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 Discussion16:00Halles de Schaerbeek, Poetik BazarRue Royale
Sainte-Marie 22, 1030 BrusselsThe discussion with invited poets will be
followed by a Q&A focusing on translation and the main themes of the
festival.Register here
Poetry Performances17:00–19:00Halles de Schaerbeek, Poetik Bazar Rue
Royale Sainte-Marie 22, 1030 BrusselsAs 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.
 
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