Dates:
- Wed, 19 Aug 2026, 17:00–18:00
Poetry has always been bound to moments of crisis, bearing witness to histories of loss, war, and cruelty.
Living in a time with no shortage of atrocities, we are confronted with a question: How is poetry actually able to survive, let alone thrive, in such conditions?
Powerful global superpowers continue to shape the conditions in which current conflicts unfold, and in which they are being narrated. At the same time, artists, activists, and communities face increasing pressure through surveillance, censorship, and repression.
The terrain is fraught and uncertain for anyone working in the literary field today. Can poetry still intervene meaningfully in the present? What space remains for dissent, for ambiguity, for care? The discussion will reflect on the possibilities and limits of poetry in a time of crisis: what it means to write, and read, under the pressures of today.
This discussion brings together three writers working across different geographies and practices: Molly Ripatti , writer and coordinator currently studying at Trinity College Dublin; DC Restaino , a London-based writer originally from Texas; and A.V. Marraccini , a New York–based critic, writer, and historian of art. The conversation will be moderated by Kimmo Kallio . Readings by Ripatti and Restaino will also take place later the same evening as part of Caisa Poetry Night.
The language of the discussion is English.
We assume an adult audience, but the Runokuu / Poetry Moon events have no age restriction.
href="https://runokuu.fi/en/">Read more about the festival and programme .
Cost: Free
Categories: Kirjallisuus ja sanataide, Caisa, Suomi, Ruotsi, Englanti, Muu, Luennot ja keskustelut, conversation, lectures, Pekka ja Pätkä films, crime fiction
More information: http://www.caisa.fi/en/events/event/0656E378130721289AB56FDEBB6C47BD/Poetry_in_a_Time_of_Crisis
Source: Event information supplied by City of Helsinki Linked Events.
