A few days after Hay-on-Wye celebrated the Hay Festival, Mallorca looks forward to another, the 10th edition of the Festival de Poesia Mediterrània, which will be celebrated at the Teatre Principal in Palma de Mallorca, shown here, on June 5th, at 21h00. Admission is free.

Participating artists will be Maria del Mar Bonet, Lolita Bosch, Maria Grech Ganado, Perejaume, Sebastià Perelló, Manuel Rivas, Màrius Sampere, Ipek Seyalioglu, Aiden Shaw, Àngel Terron, Colm Tóibín, Nada Yosif, Salem Zenia and Monika Zgustová. All poets will recite their own works in their own idioms. Be prepared to hear poems in the Catalan, Spanish, English, Arab, Irish, Galician, Maltese, Turkish, Berber and Czech languages.

I have attended a number of previous editions of this poetry festival, and I was delighted on each and every occasion. It made me realize just how rich and varied our culture is, here in the Mediterranean region. 

The festival is organized by the Fundació Llorenç Villalonga, named after a major Mallorcan author (1897-1980). His Fundació Casa Museu Llorenç Villalonga can be found in Binissalem.

The photos were taken in Palma de Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: May 29th, 2008. The time was 14:08:43 and 14:04:49, respectively.