The Granada International Festival of Poetry is, without doubt, the most important annual poetry event in Spain, and it extends to the whole  of Europe, where it enjoys a wide and well earned reputation, as the place to be each and every May for anybody with an interest in poetry. The city becomes alive with poets, and with poetry. Literally dozens of poets, from across Europe and beyond, come to share their experiences and also to give readings of their works. To add to the beauty of the event, many of these readings and events are held at classical locations within the ancient city; for example, at the Alhambra, the Carmen de los Martires and at the former home of Federico Garcia Lorca - as well as at his burial place.

The cultural importance of the Festival is made clear by naming just a few of the key sponsors of the event. They include the Spanish Ministry of Culture, the Junta de Andalucia, Diputación de Granada, and Granada University itself. Other major Spanish cultural Institutions also lend their help and their names, in support of the Festival. Which is why, every year, tens of thousands of people come to Granada to celebrate the best modern poetry has to offer.

One of the other highlights of the Festival is the award of the "Granada-Federico Garcia Lorca" price, which comes with a financial endowment - one larger then any award given in any other spanish-speaking Country.

To give you an example of the authors who have previously benefited from the Festival, here is a list of names, along with their country of birth:-
Gonzalo Rojas (Chile), Claribel Alegria (Nicaragua), Juan Gelman (Argentina), Rodolfo Dada (Costa Rica), Juan Carlos Orihuela (Bolivia), Waldo Leyva (Cuba), Maram Al-Masri (Syria), Niall Binns (England), Jennifer Clement (United States of America), Víctor Manuel Mandiola (México), Angel González (Spain), Ana Blandían (Romania), Shlomo Avayou (Israel) o Dante Mafia (Italy).

To celebrate the International nature of poetry thinking, the Granada Festival is party to an International agreement, which allows accredited poets from various countries to visit other festivals, in countries otherwise unavailable - for example:- The Nicaragua International Festival of Poetry, likewise La Havana and San Jose de Costa Rica.
The official Festival programme is published in April, one month prior to the Festival itself. Submissions foe poetic entries should be sent to the committee at      

For further information you would visit the spanish websites:

www.fipgranada.com

www.festivaldepoesiadegranada.com