See you at the Lyrikline Poetry Festival

Okay, not physically. You can meet me through the Nigerian Poet, Remi Raji, who will be reading from his latest publication, Gather My Blood Rivers Of Song in - a worldwide poetry reading - holding in Berlin. He would be performing alongside nine other poets from the United States, South America, Europe and Africa.

You can follow the performance live on Twitter.
He would use the opportunity to introduce the works of some Nigerian poets to the international audience - poets confirmed for this online presentation are Ogaga Ifowodo, Jumoke Verissimo, Tade Ipadeola, Niran Okewole, Ify Omalicha and Perpetual Emenekwum.

And if you're in Berlin, Germany...Below is programme for the event:
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Press Release
Literaturwerkstatt Berlin Poetry Festival
26 – 31 October
world wide poetry: 10 years of lyrikline.org

Week of events in Berlin
We are celebrating lyrikline.org, come and celebrate with us! For ten years now, the website for poetry has been seeing to it that international poetry is freely available and accessible everywhere. Reason enough to celebrate with a whole week of events opened by German President Horst Köhler. Sixteen Embassies and cultural institutions are joining the Literaturwerkstatt Berlin in organising a week of poetry readings throughout Berlin to mark this occasion.
And if you can’t get to Berlin, never mind. You can listen to the final event of the week on 31 October 2009 at 20 hours CET in a live streaming in the Internet, as well as having the opportunity to take part in a special chat. Berlin-based poet Steffen Popp will be commentating the event live on Twitter.

lyrikline.org has been an ongoing success story since its inception in 1999. There is a huge audience for poetry, even if book publications and sales are in a world-wide decline and publishers are ever more wary of it. There are now 600 poets online on lyrikline.org with 5,500 poems in 50 languages, with translations into 48 languages. Partners in 40 countries collaborate in lyrikline.org, which began as an initiative by the Literaturwerkstatt Berlin.

The week of events to mark “10 years of lyrikline.org” is under the patronage of the EU Commissioner for Multilingualism, Leonard Orban.

The week of events is taking place in cooperation with: the Embassy of the Republic of Argentina, the Embassy of the Republic of Estonia, the Embassy of the Republic of Finland, the Embassy of the Republic of Iceland, the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia, the Embassy of the Republic of Macedonia, the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Flemish Representation, the Greek Culture Foundation, Berlin branch, the Ramon Llull Institute – Berlin, the Italian Cultural Institute, Berlin, The Royal Norwegian Embassy, the Titu Maiorescu Romanian Cultural Institute, Berlin, the Slovakian Institute, Berlin and the Québec Government Office in Berlin.

With kind support from:
The Working Group of Literary Societies, Foreign Office, Senate Chancellery – Cultural Affairs, Prussian Maritime Foundation, the Representation of the European Commission in the FRG, The Heinrich-Böll Foundation, the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media and the Mandala Hotel

Programme of the week of events to mark 10 years of lyrikline.org

Mon. 26 October
Password: Poetry
Opening
7,30 pm, Palais, Kulturbrauerei, Schönhauser Allee 36, 10435 Berlin, Entrance free, Advance reservation required at mail@literaturwerks tatt.org till 21st October
Featuring Lebogang Mashile (South Africa), Monika Rinck (Germany)
Music: Aki Takase (Japan)
In the presence of German President Horst Köhler

Tues. 27 October
Greece: The Blast of Time
6.30 pm Greek Culture Foundation, Wittenbergplatz 3a, 10789 Berlin, Entrance free
Featuring Dionýsis Kapsális (Greece), Moderated by: Anna Lazaridou

Estonia/Finland/ Iceland/Norway
North-North- East: a Nordic-Baltic evening
8 pm Nordic Embassies, Felleshus, Rauchstrasse 1, 10787 Berlin, Entrance free, please reserve a seat at info@nordischebotsc haften.org
Featuring Simen Hagerup (Norway), Lauri Otonkoski (Finland), Steinunn Sigurðardóttir (Iceland) Elo Viiding (Estonia)

Weds. 28 October
Croatia: Mirrored Words
6 pm Embassy of the Republic of Croatia, Ahornstrasse. 4, 10787 Berlin
Entrance free. Please reserve a seat on 030-2192-5514
Featuring Branko Cegec (Croatia),: Dieter M. Gräf (Germany), Karen Kiwus (Germany), Zvonko Maković (Croatia) and Andriana Škunca (Croatia)
Moderated by: Alida Bremer

Flanders/Netherland s:
Poetry Below Sea-Level
8 pm Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Klosterstrasse 50, 10179 Berlin
Entry free, please reserve a seat at: bln-pcz@minbuza. nl
Featuring: Luuk Gruwez (Flanders), Ramsey Nasr (The Netherlands) , Victor Schiferli (The Netherlands) and Mark van Tongele (Flanders)
Music: Ma Rain (The Netherlands)

Thurs. 29 October
Slovakia: Electromagnet Love
6 pm Berlin Slovakian Institute, Zimmerstrasse 27, 10969 Berlin. Entrance free
Featuring Martin Solotruk (Slovakia) Music: David Kollar (Slovakia) Moderated by: Angela Repka

Catalonia/Qué bec
The Poetry of Obstinacy: reading and discussion
8 pm Literaturwerkstatt Berlin, Knaackstrasse 97, 10435 Berlin, Entrance free
Featuring Nicole Brossard (Québec), Teresa Pascual (València) Translators: Juana Burghardt (Argentina), Tobias Burghardt (Germany), Odile Kennel (Germany)
Moderated by: Frank Heibert

Fri. 30 October
Macedonia: On the borders of poetry
5 pm Embassy of the Republic of Macedonia, Koenigsallee 2, 14193 Berlin
Entrance free
Featuring: Claudia Keelan (USA), Nikola Madzirov (Macedonia), Zvonko Maković (Croatia) and Uljana Wolf (Germany / USA)

Slovenia: The Magic of Slovenian Poetry
6.30 pm Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia, Hausvogteiplatz 3-4, 10117 Berlin
Entrance free
Featuring: Milan Dekleva (Slovenia), Gregor Podlogar (Slovenia)

Argentina / Italy:
Transeurope Hotel & Argentinian Visions
8 pm Instituto Cervantes, Rosenstrasse 18, 10178 Berlin, 2576180
Entrance free
Featuring: Bruno Capezzuoli (Italy), Luigi Cinque (Italy), Silvana Franzetti (Argentina), Daniel Samoilovich (Argentina)
Moderated by Timo Berger & Rike Bolte

Romania: POETRY LIVE – The Long Night of Young Romanian Poetry
10 pm (expected to last until 3 am), Literaturwerkstatt Berlin, Knaackstr. 97, 10435 Berlin
Entrance free
Featuring: Constantin Acosmei (Romania), Svetlana Carstean (Romania), Rita Chirian (Romania), Gabi Eftimie (Romania), Sorin Gherguţ (Romania), Vasile Leac (Romania), Stefan Manasia (Romania), Vlad Moldovan (Romania), Ioana Nicolae (Romania), Olga Stefan (Romania) Moderated by Răzvan Ţupa

Sat. 31 October
world wide poetry
Finale
8 pm Tape Club, Heidestrasse 14, 10557 Berlin (Near main station and Hamburger Bahnhof gallery), Entrance EUR 5/3 with concessions, tickets on the door
Featuring Nicole Brossard (Québec), Babangoni wawa Chisale (Malawi), Elke Erb (Germany), Claudia Keelan (USA), Nikola Madzirov (Macedonia), Thomas Möhlmann (Netherlands) , Joseph Molapong (Namibia), Remi Raji (Nigeria), Daniel Samoilovich (Argentina), Lutz Seiler (Germany)
Moderated by: Knut Elstermann (journalist based in Berlin)