| Guntur International Poetry Festival | |
| Frequency: | Annually |
| Next: | November 2021 |
| Prev: | 19–20 September 2019 |
| Last: | 7 July 2020 |
| Founders: |
|
| First: | [1] |
| Country: | India |
| Location: | Guntur, Andhra Pradesh |
| Venue: | Jagarlamudi Kuppuswamy Chowdary College |
| Native Name: | గుంటూరు అంతర్జాతీయ కవితోత్సవం |
| Genre: | Literary festival |
| Status: | Active |
The Guntur International Poetry Festival (Telugu: గుంటూరు అంతర్జాతీయ కవితోత్సవం), also known as GIPF, is a literary festival which takes place annually in the Indian city Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. Gopichand Paruchuri and Nagasuseela Panchumarthi are the founders and organisers of the festival.[2]
GIPF is an annual non-profit, zero registration fee, invitation only poetry recitation event conducted to encourage budding and enthusiastic poets from India and abroad since 2008 by Poets and Lecturers Gopichand Paruchuri & Nagasuseela Panchumarthi.[3] [4] Invitation to recite poem in the event is inaugurated every year according to the programme calendar released around the month of March. After scrutiny of the entries by the panel, shortlisted poets are invited for the Festival to present the poems to the fest audience. GIPF usually falls on (or) around the International Day of Peace i.e. on 21 September, as themes of poems are predominantly in the backdrop of Peace, Human Values & Non-Violence.[5] Poets recite poems which were selected by the jury in the day session which would later be published in Fest Anthology. Later in the evening Poets recite poems in their Vernacular Languages under the candle lit lights as a mark of solidarity to the victims of Violence in all forms. Last Poetry Festival was held on September 20 and 21, 2019[6] attended by poets from the United Kingdom, Poland, India, Maldives, the United States, Philippines and Bhutan.[7] [8] [9]
The following notable poets and literary personalities participated in the 2019 Guntur International Poetry Festival.
In 2020 Due to COVID situation 13th edition of GIPF [11] was conducted virtually on 7–12 July 2020 in which more than 200 poets recited poems dedicated to COVID frontline workers and victims of COVID.[12] [13]