The Annual International Poetry Festival in memory of Mikhas Streltsov “Poems on the pavement” was founded in 2012 by the Union of Belarusian Writers and Belarusian PEN Centre. Among the traditional events of the Festival: poetry slam, dramatic readings, presentations of books and book series.
During the Festival the Ukrainian poet Yuriy Zavadskiy participated in international poetry slam being a part of “All-World Team” and had an opportunity to present his Ukrainian translations of the concrete poetry texts by world classics of this genre. Also Yuriy participated in the poetry marathon “The Grand Duchy of Poetry” during which the poets and translators from Belarus, Lithuania, Iceland, Ukraine, Russia and Poland performed for the audience.
«I presented a sequence of my revolutionary poetry, the subject matter of which found the good feedback of the audience. I managed to establish good promising connections with Belarusian writers. I met and already started to work together with Belarusian translators in terms of exposing Icelandic poetry for Ukraine and Belarus, since this poetry is little known in the Eastern Europe”, Yuriy Zavadskiy commented on his participation in the poetry festival.
It’s important to mention that Arseniy Yatsenyuk Open Ukraine Foundation has implemented the Cultural Horizons Program for the sixth year in a row. The program is aimed at promoting Ukrainian literature abroad and integrating Ukrainian art into the global context. Within the program, each year the Foundation provides travel grants to Ukrainian artists to participate in international festivals, exhibitions, competitions, and, respectfully, presenting cultural achievements of modern Ukraine.
