Tripoli International Poetry Festival, April 28-30, 2012

Marcus Aurelius Arch in Tripoli

Wall mural celebrating the overthrow of Gaddafi

Old City, Tripoli

Traditional hanging lamps

Traditional Sufi musicians mark the beginning of the festival

Ashur Etwebi kicks off the festival

Khaled Mattawa offers opening remarks

Before the festival opens, some poets: Tony Hoagland in baseball cap, Carolyn Forche, Taher Riyad. In the second row, Nii Parkes, Marilyn Hacker, Rasha Umran and Matthew Sweeney in a linen jacket, finding something amusing...

Carolyn Forche reads

One of the panels, from left to right: Tony Hoagland, Zakaria Muhammad, Carolyn Forche, Iman Mersal, Salem Al-Okley, Khaled Mattawa

Part of the Old City in Tripoli

Roman ruins in Sabartha

Fully functioning amphitheatre in Sabratha

Ruins of Sabratha, on the Meditteranean, facing north towards Rome...

Totally intact tile floor of a Roman villa facing the Mediterranean--

Me, in the desert, en route to the ancient mountain village of Efren, in northwest Libya, close to Tunisia

Part of the Tripoli skyline