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The Mystical Poetry Prize: for mystic poets or nonbelievers? The prestigious Fernando Rielo World Prize for Mystical Poetry celebrates its 30th award ceremony this year. The prize, which is promoted …More
The Mystical Poetry Prize: for mystic poets or nonbelievers?

The prestigious Fernando Rielo World Prize for Mystical Poetry celebrates its 30th award ceremony this year. The prize, which is promoted by the Idente Missionaries through the Fernando Rielo Foundation, was created in 1981 to encourage mystical poetry and to give worldwide exposure to the works of poets who combine elevated spirituality with authentic literary expression. The Idente Missionaries’ Superior General explains:

“Pure mystical poetry is a clear poetical expression; however, we cannot establish its boundaries. As has been mentioned many times in poetical reviews, poetry reflects the image of God in people. So, little by little, in effort to spur people to write this type of poetry, as well as encourage the many authors who have already written such works to present themselves for the prize, we are taking steps in creating awareness about something that exists in each of us and in our culture.”

The President of the jury for the Mystical Poetry Prize underlined that the award is intended for all people -- regardless of their creed or religious tradition -- so that the intimate experience of the love of God can be universally expressed. This goal was upheld by Fernando Rielo, the promoter of this initiative:

“He wanted the experience of union with God to be widespread in a special way among Catholics, but also among all religions, so that this experience of union could be expressed in literary terms, with values that are truly elevated; not only through the classical models of hymns and sonnets like St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa, but also through every type of model, including the literary models of the 19th and 20th century […] When the language used to communicate something implies more aestheticism and greater values -- and when values are expressed all the more-- the better the intimate experience of the love of God will be conveyed."

The prize awarded is 7 thousand euros and the publication of their work; further, the award ceremony has been held in significant international headquarters, such as the United Nations in New York, the French Senate and the UNESCO in Paris, Rome’s City Hall, the Gothic Hall of Cologne, as well as the Prado Museum and the City Hall of Madrid.

The last award ceremony was celebrated in the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See, and the prize was granted to Fausto Antonio Leonardo Henríquez, a Latin American Dominican poet who presented “Moans of a Wounded Deer” (“Gemidos del ciervo herido”). His work was selected from among 207 candidates, coming from twenty different countries.

“I thank God because the gift of speech is a gift from Him, and what I want to express through poetry, in this case the piece “Moans of a Wounded Deer”, is precisely the wound I have for God, that is, the suffering that I have because I cannot love God as I would like to, to love Him more and to express it in distinct ways.
Mystical poetry expresses a little the feelings of love, closeness, and trust in the Lord, the moans of the wounded …