In 1969 Adriaan van der Staay and Martin Mooij, both working for the Rotterdamse Kunststichting (Rotterdam Foundation for Art), en Martin Mooij, attended the Londen Poetry International Festival in England. During their visit, they were inspired to organise a similar event in Rotterdam, and so the Poetry International Festival was born. Twenty-three poets, including Zbigniew Herbert from Poland, Frenchman Eugène Guillevic and Austrian poet Ernst Jandl, were among the guest readers in the smallest room at the Doelen concert building in Rotterdam. Since then, Poetry International has hosted 43 festivals, and organises a number of other poetry events in the Netherlands as well as providing an online database of articles, news, poetry, video, and more.
