Novo Mesto Summer Evenings: Contemporary World Poetry
As part of the Novo Mesto Summer Evenings festival, Goga Publishing House invites you to the literary evening Contemporary World Poetry, taking place on Wednesday, 19 August 2026, at 8.00 pm.
CONTEMPORARY WORLD POETRY; DAI WEINA, KATJA KOLŠEK AND KLAVDIJA KOTAR / LITERARY EVENING
What connects Beijing and Novo Mesto? At first glance, they are separated by thousands of kilometres, different languages and distinct cultural environments, yet poetry creates unexpected bridges between them. Words can travel farther than people—from one language to another, from one culture to another, from one city to another.
At the peak of the Novo Mesto Summer Evenings festival, Chinese poet Dai Weina, one of the most prominent authors of her generation, will visit Novo Mesto. Through her poetry collection A Single Bloom in the Dark, which was recently published for the first time in Slovenian translation, we will explore contemporary Chinese poetry and the journeys poems take as they move between languages, cultures and continents.
The poet will be joined on stage by Chinese-to-Slovenian translator Katja Kolšek, who will speak about the challenges and joys of translating poetry. The evening will be hosted by Klavdija Kotar.
The event will take place at the festival venue in the Main Square, in front of Goga Bookshop.
NOVO MESTO SUMMER EVENINGS
Throughout July and August, Novo Mesto welcomes some of Slovenia’s leading writers, poets and musicians. Alongside literature, the festival also explores wider social issues. With Novo Mesto Summer Evenings, Goga brings a vibrant programme of cultural events to the town. Every book, every conversation with authors, is a celebration of Slovenian literature, the written word and the power of ideas.
FESTIVAL PROGRAMME 2026
- Wednesday, 9 July 2026, 8.00 pm – Kitchen of the Poor
- Monday, 14 July 2026, 8.00 pm – Prešeren, Censorship and the Turbulent Nineteenth Century
- Wednesday, 16 July 2026, 8.00 pm – Between Crime Fiction, Music and Comics
- Wednesday, 16 July 2026, 9.00 pm – Vlado Kreslin (concert)
- Friday, 18 July 2026, 10.00 am – Absolutely Nothing (puppet performance for children)
- Tuesday, 21 July 2026, 8.00 pm – Oma and the Spruce, Thousands of Years
- Wednesday, 23 July 2026, 8.00 pm – Life? or Theatre?
- Friday, 25 July 2026, 10.00 am – The Magical Birthday (puppet performance for children)
- Wednesday, 30 July 2026, 8.00 pm – Enlightened Novo Mesto
- Saturday, 1 August 2026, 9.00 pm – Ana Pupedan (concert)
- Friday, 8 August 2026, 10.00 am – Mirror, Mirror (puppet performance for children)
- Tuesday, 11 August 2026, 8.00 pm – Contemporary Slovenian Science Fiction
- Monday, 17 August 2026, 8.00 pm – Loveliness
- Wednesday, 19 August 2026, 8.00 pm – Contemporary World Poetry
- Thursday, 20 August 2026, 8.00 pm – Winter in Sokč
- Saturday, 22 August 2026, 10.00 am – Goldilocks and the Three Bears (puppet performance for children)
