Red Door 29

POETIC CONNECTIONS
IN TIMES OF ISOLATION
032
Elizabeth Torres, also known as Madam
Neverstop, is an artist with many irons
in the fire. Originally from Colombia but
now living and working in Copenhagen,
Elizabeth is a poet, multimedia artist
and translator, as well as director of Red
Door Gallery and Red Door Magazine,
and initiator of the radio station Tremella
Radio. For some time now, another project
can be added to the long list: the Poetic
Phonotheque (Det Poetiske Fonotek).
The project came into being during
the height of the Covid-19 epidemic,
which, as we all know, was very stressful
and imposed a lot of restrictions. With
the pandemic came enforced isolation,
boredom, idleness and the loss of
opportunities for poets to perform and
thus reach out to audiences.
In an attempt to overcome these
obstacles, Elizabeth came up with the idea
of the Poetic Phonotheque. If we couldn’t
meet physically, we had to communicate
in a different way. This was done by
harnessing the power of digital media,
creating a multimedia platform where
poets and visual artists could submit their
work.
The Poetic Phonotheque project was
launched on 21 March 2020, which
happens to be World Poetry Day. The
project has evolved into a virtual library
of international poetry. An ever-growing
collection that now includes over 300
audiovisual poems, performed by poets
from all over the world and which can be
seen and heard at:
www.poeticphonotheque.com
Contributing to the growth of the
collection is very easy. For keen poets, all
you have to do is turn on your computer
and go to the aforementioned website,
press ‘record’, read your poetry, give your
name, click ‘send’ and voilà! you are part
of the Poetic Phonotheque.
Since 2021, it has been collaborating with
Kulturhuset Islands Brygge, which also
houses the collection, as does Kultivera
in Tranås, but as the archive is digital,
other cities can also use its material and
host events such as exhibitions. The idea
is that in the future it will be possible to
hold local events showcasing poetry,
screenings and books etc. The concept
goes very well with poetry film festivals,
as you could rotate the events between
different festivals.
In November 2021, Poetic Phonotheque,
in cooperation with Kulturhuset Islands
Brygge, organised the first international
poetry film festival under the name
“Nature & Culture”. It received 300
entries from around the world, of which
128 were selected and streamed on the
website. In addition, two film screenings
were organised at Kulturhuset Islands
Brygge, followed by discussions and an
art exhibition. The festival was promoted
in Copenhagen’s largest newspaper and
several directors, composers and poets
attended the event.
Article by: Frank Bergsten
for Kultivera
Photography by: Zarko Ivetic
(Ilaria Boffa, Pablo Saborio and Extinction
Rebellion Danmark during the festival)
for Kulturhuset Islands Brygge
Illustrations by Rikke Winkler Nilsson