Participating poets from across the globe have repeatedly attested to its transformative power. Many recall arriving in Medell\u00edn to discover a city alive with poetic energy, where audiences of all ages engage deeply with words, and where the Festival\u2019s organizers, led by Fernando Rend\u00f3n, cultivate an environment of collaboration, respect, and care.<\/p>\n
At a time when the arts and creative voices face increasing threats, the Festival stands as a symbol of resilience and hope. Its preservation is vital\u2014not only for Medell\u00edn and Colombia\u2014but for the global community, as a testament to the enduring power of poetry to inspire, heal, and unite humanity.<\/p>\n
Egyptian poet Ashraf Aboul-Yazid wrote: \u201cFor decades, the Medellin International Poetry Festival has been a beacon of peace and art, uniting humanity through poetry. It transforms pain into hope, celebrates dialogue and beauty, and must endure as a global symbol of harmony and the human spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Irish poet Moya Cannon recalls her visit to the Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival as one of deep warmth and inclusivity. She praises its community spirit, cultural impact, and global significance, calling it a beacon of excellence that Colombia should proudly continue supporting.<\/p>\n
Argentine poet Tina Elorriaga defends Medell\u00edn\u2019s International Poetry Festival, praising Fernando Rend\u00f3n\u2019s 35-year effort transforming the city\u2019s image from violence to poetry. She calls the Festival a beacon of free expression and cultural resistance that must continue inspiring justice and beauty worldwide.<\/p>\n
Greek poet Dinos Siotis urges the Medell\u00edn City Council to preserve the International Poetry Festival, calling it a luminous torch of world poetry for 35 years. He hails it as a global model of excellence and creativity\u2014vital as oxygen for humanity.<\/p>\n
Italian poet Giuseppe Conte calls Medell\u00edn\u2019s International Poetry Festival the most important in the world, celebrating its unique energy and spirit. He praises it as a living force of dreams, love, and resistance against global violence\u2014urging: \u201cLet\u2019s live Poetry! Let\u2019s live!\u201d<\/p>\n
Pulitzer Prize\u2013winning poet Tyehimba Jess recalls his 2019 participation in the Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival as a revelatory experience connecting poets worldwide. He urges Colombia to continue funding this vital global gathering that elevates Medell\u00edn onto the international literary stage.<\/p>\n
Ecuadorian poet Luis Carlos Muss\u00f3 calls the Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival a vital global space for peace, freedom, and solidarity. He praises its healing power for Colombia\u2019s past wounds and urges institutions to keep supporting this \u201cannual miracle\u201d where poetry rebuilds what war destroyed.<\/p>\n
Moroccan poet Mohamed Ahmed Bennis expresses full solidarity with the Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival. He emphasizes its 35-year legacy as a global meeting point for poets, promoting justice, beauty, and peace, and urges Colombian authorities to ensure its continued support.<\/p>\n
Chilean poet Soledad Fari\u00f1a expresses shock at attempts to cut funding for the Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival, highlighting its 35-year legacy of uniting 2,100 poets from 197 countries, fostering reconciliation, artistic growth, and a global celebration of poetry.<\/p>\n
Virginia Fern\u00e1ndez Collado, poet and professor, recounts her experience at the 32nd Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival in July 2022, highlighting readings, collaborations with global poets, educational activities, and the Festival\u2019s transformative impact, describing it as a vibrant, unforgettable poetic celebration.<\/p>\n
Fahredin Shehu, award-winning poet from Kosovo, emphasizes the Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival\u2019s 35-year legacy of uniting 2,100 poets from 197 nations, fostering creativity, justice, cultural dialogue, and human values, urging its preservation as a vital global poetic sanctuary.<\/p>\n
Nigar Arif, poet from Azerbaijan, celebrates the Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival as a magical, unifying space where poets worldwide gather, fostering creativity, solidarity, and cultural dialogue, urging its preservation for the invaluable inspiration, humanity, and hope it brings.<\/p>\n
Althea Romeo Mark from Switzerland and Antigua & Barbuda celebrates the Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival as a transformative, global gathering where poets connect, friendships flourish, and Fernando Rend\u00f3n\u2019s team ensures flawless organization, making it the ultimate \u201cMecca\u201d for poets worldwide.<\/p>\n
Miguel Falquez-Certain from New York expresses solidarity with the Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival, celebrating its 35 years of inspiring love for poetry, fostering lifelong friendships, and honoring Fernando Rend\u00f3n\u2019s tireless work, ensuring the festival\u2019s unmatched global significance.<\/p>\n
Kalu Tatyisavi from M\u00e9xico urges continued support for the Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival, celebrating its role in uniting nations, poets, and voices, fostering dialogue, diversity, and a peaceful space where humanity meets in colorful, fraternal harmony.<\/p>\n
Italian poet Valerio Magrelli denounces the far-right attack in Medell\u00edn\u2019s City Hall against the world-renowned International Poetry Festival, aiming to eliminate its annual funding. Such an act is intolerable \u2014 the Festival is perhaps Colombia\u2019s most important cultural institution and must endure.<\/p>\n
Spanish poet Mar\u00eda S\u00e1nchez expresses deep sadness over the attack on the Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival. Having attended in 2025, she witnessed poetry\u2019s transformative power \u2014 a space of community, resistance, and hope. Removing its funding, she warns, would silence Medell\u00edn\u2019s brightest cultural light.<\/p>\n
Cuban poet Mois\u00e9s May\u00e1n declares he cannot imagine Medell\u00edn without its International Poetry Festival. Quoting Jos\u00e9 Mart\u00ed, he affirms that poetry is essential for humanity\u2019s spirit. After attending in 2019, he says the Festival transformed him forever \u2014 \u201cit must live on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paraguayan poet Susy Delgado urges the Medell\u00edn Council and Colombian government to preserve the city\u2019s International Poetry Festival. She calls it one of the world\u2019s most significant cultural events\u2014 a global seed of peace, diversity, and poetic unity that must endure.<\/p>\n
Costa Rican poet Guillermo Acu\u00f1a cites the Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival as a powerful example of how art and poetry can confront violence. For 35 years, its creative and liberating word has inspired dreams, hope, and transformation\u2014he affirms: \u201cI believe in the Festival!\u201d<\/p>\n
Colombian poet R\u00f3mulo Bustos Aguirre affirms that the Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival represents 35 years of creative resistance and reconciliation, a true \u201cmining of the human heart\u201d that rebuilds through poetry\u2014the vigilant spirit of hope that saves history\u2019s instant.<\/p>\n
Indian poet Rati Saxena calls the Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival the \u201cKaaba of the world\u2019s poets.\u201d Having joined it five times, she celebrates its transformative magic, saying poetry there becomes the people\u2019s mantra\u2014spreading peace, safety, and spiritual strength across humanity.<\/p>\n
Algerian poet Hamid Larbi expresses full support for Fernando Rend\u00f3n and the Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival, calling it a global space of altruism and unity. He praises its humanistic mission, creative exchanges, and Colombia\u2019s solidarity with the Palestinian struggle.<\/p>\n
Saudi poet Raed Anis Al Jishi praises the Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival as a beacon of creativity and human connection. Having joined during the pandemic, he celebrates its cultural bridges, inclusiveness, and lasting contribution to global poetic and spiritual vitality.<\/p>\n
French poet-philosopher Philippe Tancelin defends the Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival, calling it a pillar of global friendship, peace, and imagination. He urges authorities to preserve its funding, warning that losing it would wound humanity\u2019s creative and spiritual progress.<\/p>\n
Peruvian poet Renato Sandoval Bacigalupo, director of the Lima International Poetry Festival, calls the Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival a sacred beacon of peace and transformation. He urges the world to defend it as humanity\u2019s spiritual heritage and the living flame of poetic resistance.<\/p>\n
Cuban poet Ismaray Pozo describes the Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival as the Cannes of poetry\u2014yet greater, for it unites poets and audiences without barriers. She celebrates its human warmth, global dialogue, and the way it transforms Medell\u00edn into a better city.<\/p>\n
Canadian poet Gary Geddes calls the Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival a beacon of Colombia\u2019s greatness\u2014transforming the city\u2019s image through culture, poetry, and solidarity. Having shared his work there, he urges continued support for this healing, unifying force of global literary spirit.<\/p>\n
Chinese poets Zhou Sese and Li Cheng\u2019en express their deep admiration for the Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival, calling it one of the world\u2019s greatest cultural bridges. They urge Medell\u00edn\u2019s government to ensure its funding, praising Fernando Rend\u00f3n\u2019s lifelong poetic and humanitarian dedication.<\/p>\n
Peruvian poet Marco Martos affirms that the Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival is the world\u2019s most important poetic gathering. Bringing together thousands of poets and spectators from nearly two hundred countries, it honors Colombia, promotes peace, and celebrates poetry\u2019s living oral and written traditions.<\/p>\n
Australian poet Dr. Judith Nangala Crispin urges full support for the Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival, calling it a shining light for global poets. She praises its vast audiences and its power to place Colombia on the literary map, spreading hope, truth, and beauty worldwide.<\/p>\n
Chilean poet Jos\u00e9 Mar\u00eda Memet, director of ChilePoes\u00eda, calls the Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival \u201ca virtuous encounter of friendship and planetary talent.\u201d Founded amid Colombia\u2019s darkest times, it turned shadows into light \u2014 a global treasure that must never face political or financial blindness.<\/p>\n
Indian poet Usha Akella describes the Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival as a transcendent, spiritual experience \u2014 a living celebration of poetry\u2019s power that unites thousands under rain and verse. She calls it Colombia\u2019s proud cultural jewel, building bridges of humanity that must be preserved.<\/p>\n
Colombian sociologist and poet Alejandro S\u00e1nchez recalls the 34th Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival, where voices united in \u201cEl coraz\u00f3n humano.\u201d For him, the festival embodies poetry\u2019s living legacy \u2014 a collective song of love, dialogue, and humanity that Medell\u00edn must preserve.<\/p>\n
Nicole Cage Florentino (Martinique) wrote: \u201cA festival where poetry reaches prisons and streets, where poets become rock stars before thousands, and words defy war to unite humanity\u2014this is Medell\u00edn\u2019s living miracle, shining for decades through love and verse.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andr\u00e9s Galeano Rodr\u00edguez (Colombia): In Medell\u00edn, poetry flows through the city\u2019s open veins\u2014reaching children, barrios, and hearts. Its organization, warmth, and power heal war\u2019s scars, keeping faith alive. This poetic torch must never fade; it ignites life itself.<\/p>\n
Gonzalo Fragui, Poet (Venezuela): I have been fortunate to attend the Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival twice \u2014 a true celebration of word and spirit, where halls and theatres fill like football stadiums. A global gathering for peace and healing through poetry. Long live the Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival.<\/p>\n
Omar P\u00e9rez, Poet (Cuba): The Medell\u00edn Poetry Festival has brought immeasurable benefit to poetry and poets worldwide. Beyond art, it has nurtured the city\u2019s soul and its people \u2014 a living bond of love and renewal that must never be broken for money.<\/p>\n
This is only a glimpse of the heartfelt testimonies sent by poets from around the world to Fernando Rend\u00f3n, founder of the Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival. The Festival\u2019s official pages are gradually sharing them, celebrating the global admiration, solidarity, and love for this extraordinary poetic gathering.<\/p>\n
The Medell\u00edn Poetry Festival is a gift to the world\u2014alive with joy, peace, and human connection. Its spirit unites poets across continents, keeping poetry\u2019s flame vibrant for future generations. The world thanks Medell\u00edn for this enduring light.
\n\u2014Niyi Osundare (Nigeria)<\/p>\n
The Medell\u00edn Poetry Festival is the world\u2019s most emblematic and necessary celebration of poetry\u2014an artistic and spiritual community inspiring strength, clarity, and hope amid chaos. Its light must continue for humanity\u2019s sake.
\n\u2014Angelina Llongueras (Catalonia, Spain)<\/p>\n
The Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival is an oasis of life and hope the world deeply needs\u2014where poetry unites hearts against hatred and division, celebrating humanity and light. Let this vital flame never fade.
\n\u2014Jos\u00e9 Muchnik (Argentina \/ France)<\/p>\n
The Medell\u00edn Poetry Festival is part of our struggle for freedom. Silencing it is wounding the people and the Word itself. Poetry unites the sacred and the human\u2014it must continue to beat in every heart.
\n\u2014Hugo Francisco Rivella (Argentina)<\/p>\n
At sixteen, witnessing the Medell\u00edn Poetry Festival changed my life. Years later, reading there as its youngest poet, I felt poetry\u2019s power to unite, heal, and awaken humanity. The Festival keeps faith in beauty and compassion alive.
\n\u2014Daniela P\u00e9rez Taborda (Colombia)<\/p>\n
In 2016, we performed at the Medell\u00edn Poetry Festival\u2014an inspiring exchange of poems, peace, and friendship among poets worldwide. A truly democratic event, it makes Medell\u00edn the world capital of poetry.
\n\u2014Augusta Laar & Kalle Aldis Laar (Germany)<\/p>\n
The Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival is a global beacon of poetry, vital for humanity\u2019s spiritual and cultural evolution. It must be preserved and supported\u2014it is poetry\u2019s living heart and universal voice.
\n\u2014Flaminia Cruciani (Italy)<\/p>\n
The Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival has always been a guiding light for us in Madrid, inspiring our own festival since 2005. You have our full support\u2014please let us know how we can help.
\n\u2014Pep Olona, Director, Madrid Poetry Festival (Spain)<\/p>\n
Attending the Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival in 2016 was unforgettable \u2014 a luminous gathering uniting nearly two thousand poets worldwide. Ending it would wound not only Colombia\u2019s culture but the world\u2019s shared poetic soul.
\n\u2014Carolina Zamudio, Argentina, Poet and Journalist<\/p>\n
The light of poetry still shines in Medell\u00edn \u2014 a beacon of humanity, healing, and hope. Through its verses, the city rose from pain to beauty, uniting the world\u2019s hearts in compassion.
\n\u2014Ying Xia Tang, Poet, Australia; President, Sydney International Poetry Festival<\/p>\n
The Medell\u00edn International Poetry Festival is a vital meeting place for thought and resistance \u2014 a wellspring of poetry that offers the world its best face: peace and fraternity, from continent to continent, from one culture to another.
\nThe world needs such confluences, these encounters, this magnificent space of poetic solidarity.
\n\u2014Jean-Luc Raharimanana, Poet, Madagascar<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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