Patagonian poetry comes to Oxford

Images inspired by Cristian Aliaga’s poetry, designed by Argentine artist Alejandro Mezzano

Members of the public can experience Argentine poetry at a bilingual event in St John’s College tomorrow (Thursday 3 November 2011).

Cristian Aliaga, one of Argentina’s outstanding contemporary writers, will perform some of his poetry in Spanish and the verse will then be read in English translation by Ben Bollig of the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages.

Phrases from Professor Aliaga’s poems will be displayed in bilingual poetry-posters made by artist and designer Alejandro Mezzano, whose works explore the relationship between different languages and different media.

Ben Bollig said: ‘We are delighted to host Cristian Aliaga, who is not only a poet but a journalist, a cultural organiser, a traveller and an editor. He is a great performer of his own poetry – he reads compellingly and has a great voice. I am particularly interested in how his poetry transcends the space it exists in – his poetry is rooted in Patagonia, but it deals with universal themes and works with other art forms, such as the art of Alejandro Mezzano which will also be on display at the event.’

Cristian Aliaga is a poet, journalist and academic based in Patagonia. He has published more than a dozen books of poetry and edits the Patagonian newspaper El extremo sur.

The event takes place at 5.30pm on Thursday 3 November. An exhibition of Alejandro Mezzano's images will be on display in The Artist's Room in St John's College until Friday 4 November, 2-4pm daily, 2-7pm on Thursday (with drinks reception).