Tangier will host the second edition of Les Rencontres Méditerranéennes from September 24 to 27, a literary gathering centered this year on women’s voices, poetry and dialogue between Mediterranean cultures. The event brings together writers, poets, artists, publishers and researchers from several countries bordering the Mediterranean, following a first edition held in June 2025 that focused on Tangier’s literary and artistic heritage.
The four-day program, organized by Founoun Al Boughaz-Arts du Détroit Foundation, includes literary and poetry meetings, conversations, readings, exhibitions and artistic performances. Poetry takes center stage this year, framed as a space for dialogue, listening and transmission between generations and cultures.
A highlight of the program is the ‘Mahmoud Darwich Poetry Day,’ organized in collaboration with the Centre Pompidou, dedicated to the work of the Palestinian poet and its connections to memory, poetry and transmission. The event also strengthens its book-focused partnerships, welcoming a collaboration with Le Matin newspaper’s Book Club, while la Librairie des Colonnes continues its involvement as a partner since the first edition.
The choice of Tangier carries particular resonance following the city’s 2025 entry into UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network in the literature category. Organizers say the Rencontres are intended to extend that recognition by making literature and poetry a recurring fixture of the city’s cultural life. Most events will take place in the Kasbah, at venues including Borj En-Naam, the Ibn Battouta memory exhibition space, and Riad Sultan.
Over four days, organizers say Tangier will become a space for the circulation of words and Mediterranean imaginaries, with particular attention paid to the women who are today reshaping narratives and representations of the Mediterranean region.
