Poetry festival rhymes with cultural exchanges
Foreign poets gather in Shanghai.
The Ninth Shanghai International Poetry Festival opened at Zikawei Library in Xuhui District on Saturday, with French poet Jean-Pierre Simeon presented with the "Golden Magnolia" Poetry Award for his profound ideological content and unique artistic style.
"Poetry is the universal language of the human soul and a sound created by humans that transcends the various languages in which poetry is written and the many admirable traditions and forms that poetry manifests across continents," said Simeon.
French poet Jean-Pierre Simeon takes the "Golden Magnolia" Poetry Award.
Some 20 poets from the United States, France, Australia, Iceland, Germany, Argentina, Japan, India and China attended the opening ceremony.
Scholars, cultural celebrities, and poetry enthusiasts from around the world took part in the grand occasion.
The annual festival aims to promote cultural exchange and civilizations of mankind. This year's theme is "Harmony in Diversity: A World So Poetic."
A poet leaves her signature.
A huge art installation has been placed in front of the library. It not only displays the award-winning works of the festival but also has famous poems for the public to read, promoting the spread and popularization of poetry culture.
Through AI technologies, Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) pioneering scientist Xu Guangqi and Matteo Ricci, a 16th-century Italian missionary, held a dialogue across time and space on poetry and science.
They presented not only a feast of poetry but also a profound dialogue between Chinese and Western cultures spanning four centuries.
A special poetry installation.
The "Guangling San," which innovatively integrated the traditional Chinese music instrument guqin with Western modern ballet, performed a wonderful melody of the fusion between Eastern and Western cultures, building a dialogue and integration between different art forms.
A poet browses books.
During the five-day festival, a series of activities such as a poetry recitation, the Sino-French Poetry Exchange Forum, and a reader meeting, will be held.
These will take place at the east branch of Shanghai Library, Shanghai United Media Group, Shanghai Normal University, Jing'an District Library, the former residence of Chinese literary master Ba Jin, 1927 Lu Xun and Uchiyama Memorial Bookstore, and Sinan Bookstore, according to the Xuhui District Culture and Tourism Bureau.
A foreign guest at the opening ceremony.
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