Andrea Grieder and Lucilla Trapazzo at Kistrech Poetry Festival [Nairobi, Kisii]
Swiss poets Andrea Grieder and Lucilla Trapazzo have been invited to participate in the 10th edition of the Kistrech International Poetry Festival in Kenya from 6-13 October 2023. They will join an international group of poets for an immersive programme of poetry and Kenyan culture.
During an evening of Swiss poetry at the Goethe-Institut in Nairobi, the two poets will read and discuss their work with an audience of Kenyan poets, students and academics. The event will be introduced by the Swiss Ambassador in Kenya.
After Nairobi, the programme moves to Kisii Town in western Kenya. Alongside readings and discussions, the guest poets will have various opportunities to encounter and learn about Kenyan culture and indigenous poetry traditions. They will meet and exchange with student-poets and lecturers at Kisii University and local school children. A visit to Bogiakumu village will provide insight into the role of oral poetry, chants and storytelling in traditional Abagusii culture.
BIOGRAPHIES
Dr. Andrea Grieder is the founder of Transpoesis, a poetry organisation based in Rwanda and in Switzerland. She teaches poetry and brings poetic performances on Stage: At the International Arts Festival Ubumuntu, Kigali and at Arts Festivals in Athens (Platforms Project), Stockholm (Supermarket Independent Art Fair), Switzerland (FatArt and Window of Fame). In Rwanda, Transpoesis ran the three-monthly poetry competition Kigali vibrates with Poetry (2015-2019). Andrea writes a column for African.Poetry.Press. She is the co-director of International Refugee Poetry Network and curated On the Wings of Technology. She holds a PhD in Social Anthropology and is the director of inArtes, an art therapy insitut in Zurich and Winterthur, member of European Graduate School EGS in Expressive Art Therapy. She talks about her vision and the transformative power of poetry on TEDx Nyarugenge, 2019.
Lucilla Trapazzo is an award-winning, internationally recognised poet, translator, artist and performer. After years spent abroad, for studies and work, (DDR, Brussels, Washington DC and New York City), she now lives in Zurich, Switzerland. Lucilla is the poetry editor of MockUp Magazine, Italy, editorial board member of INNSAEI Journal, India, editorial advisor of Zheng Xin International Award and Journal, China, juror of poetry competitions, moderator and co-organiser of international festivals and art exhibitions. Her poems, translated into 18 languages, are published in international anthologies and literary magazines. She has been a guest of International Festivals – North Macedonia (including Struga Poetry Evenings, N. Macedonia 2021, Princeton, USA 2021, and Babylon International Festival of the Arts, Baghdad, Iraq 2022), Tunisia, Albania, Serbia, Italy, Argentina, Columbia, Croatia, India, Crimea, China.
