The colloquium and poetry readings with Antonio Praena will be held at the Sapiencia Chapel in La Nau, with the participation of essayist and novelist Carlos Marzal, librarian Adelina Navarro and Xelo Candel, in charge of the UV Poetry Club, at 7:00pm. Admission is free until full capacity.

‘La belleza del otro’ symbolises that “the world is full of tiny gestures of everyday heroism, of minor examples of plenitude, and the job of a poet is to discover them, to shape them through language, because poems —as T. S. Eliot maintained— might be a artifice that we don’t entirely understand, but that understand us in its pursuit of clarity,” according to Carlos Marzal. “This is his most well-done book to date, a song to survival in the unknown, to happiness in what seems to disappear, but that always remains beyond ourselves. High poetry of a hopeful conscience that gives us, his readers, a profound and transparent emotional experience,” he concludes.

Antonio Praena (Purullena, Granada, 1973) has a PhD in Theology. Professor at the Faculty of Theology of Valencia. Professor at Domuni Universitas and the Higher Institute of Religious Sciences of Valencia. He has published articles on philosophical, aesthetic and theological reflection, as well as catalogues on contemporary visual artists. As a poet, he has published the following books: ‘Humo verde’ (runner-up prize in the 2003 Victor Jara Ibero-American Award), ‘Poemas para mi hermana’ (runner-up prize winner Adónis, 2006), ‘Actos de amor’ (José Hierro National Award, 2011), ‘Yo he querido ser grúa muchas veces’ (Tiflos Award, 2013, 2nd edition. 2014), ‘Historia de un alma’ (Gil de Biedma Award, 2018 Andalusian Critique Award and 2018 Critics’ Valencian Award) and ‘Cuerpos de Cristo’ (2020 Emilio Alarcos Poetry Awards). In Italy, an anthology of his poetic work has been published. He has coordinated the anthology ‘La luz se hizo palabra. Contemporary Judeo-Christian poetry in Spain.(Ed. Ravenswood) as well as authoring its critical introduction.

António Carlos Cortez and Ángelo Nestore, on the Blasco Ibáñez campus

On Friday, 4 April, at 12:00pm, a poetry reading and a colloquium led by Portuguese poet António Carlos Cortez will take place at the Espai Cultural of the Faculty of Language Studies, Translation and Communication. At the ceremony, María Rosa Álvarez, UV professor and vice-dean of Culture, Equality, Inclusive policies and Sustainability, and Xelo Candel will participate.

António Carlos Cortez (1976) is a poet, literary critic and Portuguese language professor. He is a professor of Portuguese language and literature and researcher at the CEHUM (Centre for Humanistic Studies of the University of Minho.) These are some of the awards that stand out throughout his trajectory: Sociedade Portuguesa de Autores Award, by Licorne (2011); Grande Prémio de Poesia Teixeira de Pascoaes APE/ Câmara Municipal de Amarante, by A Dor Concreta (2017); Prémio nacional de poesia RUY BELO by ‘Jaguar’ (edições Dom Quixote) (2020); Premio de poesia António Gedeao / FENPROF by ‘Jaguar’ (edições Dom Quixote) (2020); Grande Prémio de poesia Associação Portuguesa de Escritores/ Maria Amália Vaz de Carvalho atribuído a Diamant (edições Dom Quixote, 2021) (2022); and Prémio de conto APE/ LabPortugal 2050 inserido no contexto dos 50 anos do 25 de Abril de 1974 (2023).

On Monday, 14 April, at the same space, Ángelo Néstore’s poetry reading and workshop will take place. This ceremony is organised by the Poetry Club, in collaboration with GVA (Second Vicepresidency and Valencian Department of Social Services, Equality and Housing) and the Office of the Vice-Principal for Equality, Diversity and Inclusive Policy.

Ángelo Néstore (1986), non-binary artist. Their work focus on poetry, understood as a queer territory in which poetry gets mixed with other ways of art such as music, performance or performing arts. Poeta Cíborg Pecador (Sinner Cyborg Poet) is his first poetic and musical experiment, based on his poems. They have published “Deseo de ser árbol” (5th Espasa Award, Espasa, 2022), “Hágase mi voluntad” (20th Emilio Prados Poetry Award, Pre-Texts, 2020), “Actos impuros” (32nd Hiperión Poetry Award, 2017), translated to English with the title of “Impure Acts” by Lawrence Schimel in the New York editorial Indolent Books and “Adán o nada” (Bandaàparte Editores, 2017). Their first poetry collection in Italian was published in 2021, with the title of “I corpi a mezzanotte” (Interlinea Poesía, 2021). Currently, they co-direct the International Festival of Poetry of Málaga ‘Irreconciliables’, they are the publishing director of Letraversal poetry publishing house and gives university classes in the Department of Translation and Interpretation of the University of Malaga.