The festival 'San Lorenzo en Verso 2026' celebrates its edition with readings, a theatrical poetic walk, and a contest where the public votes for the poems.
San Lorenzo de El Escorial will host the Poetry Festival ‘San Lorenzo en Verso 2026’ on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th September, organised by the Asociación Cultural Floridablanca in collaboration with the Town Hall. The event will bring together poets, literature enthusiasts, and the general public in various spaces around the municipality.
The programme kicks off on Saturday at 11:00 hours in the plaza de Jacinto Benavente, in front of the Cultural Centre. Half an hour later, the writer Daniel Mustieles will give the inaugural reading and present the programme, followed by the first readings from the participants.
From 11:45 hours, poetry will take to the streets with a theatrical poetic walk through different corners of San Lorenzo. At each stop, after a brief introduction from the guide, attendees will recite their own poems along the route.
After a break for lunch, activities will resume at 18:00 hours with the main recital in the Patio of the Cultural Centre. The readings will alternate with musical performances, and the festival newspaper will be distributed among the audience. The first day will conclude at 20:00 hours.
On Sunday 20th, from 11:30 hours, the Cultural Centre will host a poetic gathering with an open mic for the public and participants, also with musical accompaniment. At 12:30 hours, the Poetry Contest will begin, where attendees will evaluate each poem with coloured ballots; the composition with the highest score will receive a diploma and a small commemorative gift.
San Lorenzo de El Escorial adds to its cultural programme a proposal that invites enjoyment of poetry in a close, participatory manner, linked to the spaces and streets of the municipality, also fostering encounters between authors and the public,” the organisers state.
Participation in the activities is free and open to all audiences. Those wishing to recite during the poetic walk or at the open mic can join directly at the designated meeting points in the programme.
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