Call for participation
Poesiæuropa offers a reflection on humanistic culture starting from the voices of poetry, with the goal to reconsider the value of our humanistic and spiritual roots and build visions for the future together. In 2027, the project will reach its ninth edition and involve fellows (students, scholars, and authors) from different countries taking part in a special school. The school will be held on Isola Polvese on Lake Trasimeno (Perugia), Italy, on the border between Umbria and Tuscany, from June 1 to 4, 2027, and will consist of various events:
• lectio magistralis;
• dialogue forum;
• workshops;
• panels with presentations of the fellows' work;
• readings.
For the 2027 edition, contributions relating to the following thematic areas are requested:
1) Emotional Heritage: Writing and Architecture, a Poetic Cocreation of the World
UNESCO defines the concept of heritage as follows, “our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations.” Thus, heritage is a vast concept that cannot be reduced to the mere scholarly recognition of tradition. Rather, it can be viewed and perceived as a form of attentiveness and care connecting human beings to time, history, and the environment they inhabit. Beyond material assets (such as real estate and financial holdings), our intangible and natural heritage invites us to view the world from a fresh perspective—one that encompasses traditions, craftsmanship, customs, and creative works, as well as natural sites, flora, and fauna that surround us and that we have a responsibility to protect. It can also be said that we build heritage just as a writer composes a text or an architect designs a building. Yet our construction is never merely a sterile and technical assembly since it calls upon the creator’s capacity for vision and empathy. We build because we are capable of conceptualizing and of giving form to an aesthetic universe that transcends mechanical, or—to put it another way—logico-instrumental, relationships with space and language. We build—we write, we design—because we are capable of conceptualizing and giving form to an aesthetic universe that transcends mechanical relationships with space and language. To regard a work of poetry or a space as heritage, we must acknowledge their qualities in a manner that is indeed logical and rational (according to the Cartesian method), but perhaps, above all, grounded in sensibility. Heritage is never merely material or reifiable; it is also—and always—emotional. Viewed in this light, literary and architectural works are alike not only because both—using different tools—compose the form and structure of their creations (that is, following a grammar of meaning based on formal and structural criteria), but precisely because they produce works permeated by the living world. Grasping this allows us to pose a question we consider fundamental: how can heritage evolve into a communal dimension, shaped by the people that conceive and create it? Drawing on a concept of heritage revisited through a hermeneutics of the living and the sensible world, how can the fields of architecture and poetic writing engage in a dialogue? Can our relationship with poetry and architecture guide us in co-creating new ecologies of the living —and in safeguarding a legacy that transcends mere historical or teleological interpretation, moving beyond the one-sided relationship between human beings, real estate, and material assets of any kind? Can this vision of a world inhabited poetically help us conceive of all forms of future creation as a space for repair, preservation, and conservation—one where vulnerable populations could, as a priority, be protected from the identity-based inequalities imposed upon us by today’s hegemonic capitalist ideas?
2) What Does the Female Canon Mean Today?
What do we mean by “canon”? Beyond the academic recognition of a tradition, can we interpret the canon in terms of a special, empathetic relationship of attention and care between human beings and time, history, and the environment? In particular, pairing the idea of the canon with that of heritage helps compare various perspectives through which we can interpret the meaning of canon. For example, there is a meaning based on scientific evidence —verified documents attesting to the institutional recognition of a work within specific historical, social, and cultural circumstances; but there is also a meaning based on an understanding of emotional knowledge that transcends those very circumstances within their precise temporal context, yet can reveal the value of a work in a different era, or in places and social groups distinct from those where cultural dominance is exercised. It can be said that the concept of heritage —as we discussed it above— helps distinguish between the notion of canon and that of dominance, enabling us to recalibrate our judgment of a text and to reinterpret the tradition we have inherited. A question arises in this regard: How is the legacy of a tradition formed? Does it truly follow the path of the rational crystallization of what is decreed to be “institutional,” or can it be rewritten by emotional layers that run through human history like geological formations in a landscape? How many examples are there of literature that was considered “minor” for a certain period of time and then, even centuries later, was rehabilitated as “major” —and indeed, was perceived as far more contemporary than the literature institutionally acclaimed during the same era, which subsequently grew quickly outdated? Thus, reflecting on the canon as cultural heritage allows us to free ourselves from the limitations of dominance and dialectically broaden our vision toward the perspective of duration. Reflecting on a text’s endurance in terms of dominance and in terms of duration also allows us to reconsider one of the most hotly debated topics of recent decades: the women’s canon. Now, the relevance of women’s writing is undoubtedly linked to sociocultural reasons (mostly limitations), but it owes much of its configuration as a canon to perspectives whose connection to dominance or duration remains unclear even today. Does advocating for the relevance of a women’s canon in relation to feminism have a value in terms of dominance or duration? Or, can we interpret biological specificity or a particular sexual orientation—including homosexuality—in terms of dominance or duration when viewed as characteristics of a canon? In short, how can we approach the female canon by moving beyond the confines of the canon-dominance nexus and entering the realm of heritage-duration?
3) Literary Itineraries
Literary itineraries can be described as poetic borderlands. In their realm, the text takes on an expanded form, one that is stretched between verbal language (writing) and material language (the articulation of the landscape). For example, writing can become a metaphor for the environment and the environment for writing, creating an interplay between inner and outer space that poetic language is able to represent fully. The place that a writer or artist has inhabited, traversed, or even merely imagined after learning of it represents a kind of invisible depth between physical and geographical materiality—which is objective—and literary immateriality—which is subjective (lyric, narrative, etc.). Therefore, the connection between the word and space—and that between space and the word—is a fundamental area of inquiry if we wish to identify the value of a heritage beyond its material connotations, but rooted in its emotional significance, which can be expressed and recounted, although it is much more difficult to calculate or measure. Reflecting on literary itineraries allows us to trace a geographical-emotional history of space, of the use humans make of it, and of how space itself influences the human condition. But it also allows us to trace the emotional-geographical history of a text—how it has been used in relation to a specific time and place, and how a particular time and place may have shaped its form and content. Literary itineraries are expanded texts, transcreative containers, and of course, by their very nature, transdisciplinary. Can we say that it is the existence of these expanded texts that enables the historical and cultural consolidation of a heritage and ensures its duration? To what extent does the economic valuation of a heritage depend on its emotional value?
To apply for a fellowship, which includes accommodation for the duration of the school and the presentation of your academic and/or creative work, please send your curriculum vitae and a 500-word abstract of the academic or artistic work you intend to present to info@spaziohumanities.it by December 14, 2026. The results will be announced by December 21, 2026.
Participation is open to everyone: there are no restrictions on age, professional occupation, or origin. Participation in Poesiæuropa also entitles participants to receive a certificate of attendance valid as a refresher/training course. Willingness to stay for the entire duration of the event will be rewarded in the evaluation of application.
The contributions selected by the scientific committee will be published in a conference proceedings volume sponsored by the Department of Literature and Languages of the University of Perugia in collaboration with Arizona State University and Colby College.
Each fellowship will cover all accommodation and meal costs for a shared room at a partner facility for undergraduate students, graduate students (PhD students) and post-docs (accommodation and meal cost are totally free for undergraduate students who will receive the grant, while PhD students and post-docs are required to pay a participation fee of €150). To reserve a single or double room at the Hotel Villa Polvese Resort, or at another affiliated property, a contribution is required for the entire duration of the event, which will be communicated upon express request. In order to facilitate logistics, please indicate in your application your preferred type of accommodation (shared or single).
No travel expenses will be reimbursed.
Those wishing to attend the summer school as listeners are invited to express their interest by March 8, 2027.
For further information, please contact:
Poesiæuropa is an initiative under the High Patronage of the European Parliament and is organized in collaboration with Arci Spazio Humanities. Partners include: University of Perugia, Umbria Region, Colby College, Arizona State University, Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing, Université du Québec.
While awaiting the program, more information is available on our website: www.spaziohumanities.it/poesiaeuropa
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