Versud brings together six poets in a multilingual recital in Palma

The Pati de les Dones of La Misericòrdia hosted the central event of the Versud Festival on Friday, May 22, organized by the Fundació Mallorca Literària. Six poets from different languages offered a recital after several days of coexistence. Participants included Antònia Vicens, Teresa Pascual, Miriam Reyes, Leire Bilbao, Anna Pantinat, Sofía Castañón, and guest Jèssica Zuan. The duo Ölivias and the visual show by Atzur completed the evening.

six poets standing in a semi-circle on a stone courtyard stage at dusk, each holding a microphone and reading from a book, multilingual recital in progress, warm lantern light illuminating faces, a digital audio mixer and monitor speakers visible on a side table, duo of musicians playing acoustic guitar and cello in background, visual projection of abstract geometric patterns on a white wall behind the poets, cinematic photorealistic style, shallow depth of field, dramatic chiaroscuro lighting, cobblestone floor texture, technical stage equipment visible, evening atmosphere with deep blue sky fading to orange

The logistics of a recital with seven languages and live projections 🎤

Coordinating an event with poetry in Catalan, Basque, Asturian, Galician, Romanç, and Spanish required a sound and simultaneous translation system. The technical team synchronized the wireless microphones with the directional speakers in the courtyard to avoid echo. Atzur's visual projection used real-time mapping software, synchronized with the poems' meter via a MIDI trigger. The duo Ölivias adapted their pieces to the space's acoustics.

Poets coexisting: less drama than in a WhatsApp group 😅

The days of coexistence prior to the recital passed without notable incidents, which in literary circles is considered an achievement. No one argued about haiku meter or declared a war of egos over the reading order. Sure, there was a debate about whether Romanç is a language or a dialect, but it was resolved with wine and sobrasada. Peace lasted until someone mentioned visual poetry.