The Desperate Literature Notebook

In 2019, over eighty poets and academics came to Madrid to form the city’s first anglophone literary festival.

Containing works from local performance poets and pulitzer prize winners alike, this bilingual collection represents a body of work capturing a glimpse of the itinerant anglophone poetry community that has passed through Madrid in recent years.

‘An unprecedented organization of writers from around the world ... I hope many more poets, writers, and readers get to benefit from this truly exceptional point of exchange.’ —Gregory Pardlo

‘..an international reading series which is inclusive, eccentric, very inspiring, which has been instigated by somebody who not only loves and understands poetry, but loves and understands people. That’s a rare thing, and something that should be celebrated.’ —Caitríona O’Reilly

Carl Adamshick, Nico Amador, Francisco Aragón, David Baker, Layla Benitez-James, Richard Blanco, Peg Boyers, Jericho Brown, Barney Bush, Rafael Carvajal, Mario Chard, Scott Cunningham; Joanne Diaz, Mark Doty, Michael Dumanis, Mary Moore Easter, Kit Fan, Joseph Fasano, Monica Ferrell, Joan Fleming, Kathleen Flenniken, Carolyn Forché, Livia Franchini, Forrest Gander, Dana Gioia, Aracelis Girmay, Rigoberto González, Jennifer Grotz, Christian Gullette, Marilyn Hacker, Tom Healy, Travis Helms, Marie Howe, Jenny Johnson, Marjorie Kanter, John Koethe, Shara Lessley, Su Smallen Love, Sheila Maldonado, Campbell McGrath, Ricardo Menes, Naomi Mulvihill, Luis Muñoz, Pádraig Ó Tuama, Sharon Olds, Caitríona O’Reilly, Gregory Pardlo, Elena Penga, Emilia Phillips, Dana Prescott, Ruben Quesada, Octavio Quintanilla, Spencer Reece, Paisley Rekdal, Luis J. Rodríguez, Steven Sanchez, Annie Schumacher, Richard Scott, Martha Serpas, Bruce Snider, Page Hill Starzinger, Fiona Sze-Lorrain, Jeremy Voigt, Clarissa Watson, Michael White, Mark Wunderlich, Monica Youn, Maya Jewell Zeller, Mark Strand