The Centre for Poetic Innovation addresses poetry and poetics creatively, critically and historically, promoting and studying poetic innovation in a broad sense of both terms, from poetry as traditionally understood to poetic aspects of visual and material art forms, of prose writing as well as interactions with music, dance and digital poetry. The key aims of the Centre are:
- Hosting speakers, workshops and conferences
- Support and development of doctoral and post-doctoral research
- Public engagement and impact activities
- Joint Research Grant applications and research projects
Upcoming event
Monday 24th November 2025, 5.30pm-7pm in UCO 32
Arabic Poetry Today: A Global Perspective
Dr Bénédicte Letellier
This talk offers an overview of contemporary Arabic poetry and its presence across the world. It will explore the main trends and voices shaping the field today, both within the Arab world and in the diaspora. Attention will be given to the themes that dominate current poetic production—exile, identity, memory, and resistance—as well as to the role of translation, festivals, and digital platforms in circulating Arabic poetry internationally. By mapping these dynamics, the presentation aims to highlight the vitality and diversity of Arabic poetry in a global context.
Bénédicte Letellier has served as Associate Professor in Comparative Literature at the University of La Réunion since 2008 and is also an established translator of Arabic poetry. Since September 2025, she has held a research appointment with the CNRS and is affiliated with the THALIM research unit (UMR) at Sorbonne Nouvelle. Her research engages principally with the comparative study of Arabic and European literatures, with a growing emphasis on literary production in the Indian Ocean region. She is the co-editor, with Nejmeddine Khalfallah and Fouad Mlih, of Le monde arabo-musulman au regard de l’Europe dans les ouvrages lexicographiques (XVIIe–XXe siècles) (PUI, 2024). Her translation work includes Adoniada by Adonis (Le Seuil, 2021), as well as a recent translation of a poem by Doha Al-Kahlout for the anthology Sur cette terre, il y a ce qui mérite vie. 17 écrivains pour la Palestine (Le Seuil, 2025).