The mission of the Maison de la Poésie de Nantes (Nantes Poetry House) is to encourage contemporary poetry practices. Their library is the second-largest contemporary poetry fund in France and can be accessed by the residents. Once a year, in the fall, they organize the “MidiMinuitPoésie” festival in various cultural spaces around the city. They also hold regular poetry evenings called “Poèmes en cavale”.
Established in 1986, the Maison de la Poésie de Nantes is a truly multicultural institution working with many local, national and international structures, encouraging interactions between poets from around the world. Since 2017, it has started hosting international residencies with the aim of getting the French audience acquainted with diverse poetic traditions.
The specificity of this residency is that the selected applicant will work with a French translator on an exclusive translation of one of his/her texts, to be published in a French literary magazine or by a French publishing house.
The sixth biggest city in France, Nantes stands out by its cultural life and the profusion of artistic events all year long. The Atlantic coast can be reached in less than an hour and Paris in two. The author will stay in the lovely neighbourhood of “Butte Sainte-Anne”, close to the city center and Nantes Island. A bakery, a supermarket and coffee shops are within walking distance, as well as several transportation modes to move quickly throughout the city.