Chuchote-moi ta Poésie

Chuchote-moi ta Poésie: Poetry Invades the Entire City

Since 2016, the city of Gaillac has transformed into a vibrant poetic territory every March. Chuchote-moi ta Poésie is a unique festival: it doesn't occupy a single venue but the entire city, making every street, every garden, every shop, and every museum a potential stage for poetry in all its forms.

The festival is part of the national dynamic of Printemps des Poètes, the major cultural movement that, since 1999, has celebrated poetry across France every March. But in Gaillac, this celebration takes on a special dimension: it lasts an entire month, from the beginning to the end of March, with a rich and varied program that is entirely free.

An Artist in Residence as a Common Thread

Each edition is structured around an artist or company in residence, who becomes the common thread of the festival. This extended presence allows the artist to immerse themselves in the city, meet its inhabitants, and create poetic works on-site that are rooted in the Gaillac region.

For the 10th edition in 2025, themed around the letter H and the "Happy City," artist Manon Crivellari scattered poems throughout the city and set up a "poetry nest" where residents could leave their texts, which were then transformed into visible creations in public spaces.

In 2026, for the 11th edition dedicated to Liberty, the Compagnie Sputnik took over Gaillac with its "cabinet of liberties," exploring the different forms and expressions of poetic freedom through a three-week laboratory-residency.

A Multidisciplinary Program for All Ages

Chuchote-moi ta Poésie refuses to confine poetry to its traditional forms alone. The festival embraces all artistic disciplines that can carry it: poetic theater performances, song concerts, performances, writing workshops, visual installations in public spaces, readings aloud, nocturnal poetic adventures...

In 2026, the program notably featured Les Torréfacteurs de rêves, the show Pianolala!, the walk Chuchote-moi ton musée, the concert Chanson soudaine, and a nocturnal poetic adventure – a sensory and contemplative experience that sold out as soon as it was announced.

Poetry in the City, For Everyone

One of the festival's strengths is its integration into the daily lives of Gaillac's residents. Poems are displayed in shop windows, artists interact with passersby, children participate in workshops in their schools, and the elderly are invited to nursing homes. Poetry is not reserved for a cultural elite: it belongs to everyone.

This spirit of openness and sharing is reinforced by the complete free access to almost all events, allowing everyone, regardless of their situation, to participate in this celebration of language and imagination.

Ten Years of Poetry and Beyond

In 2025, the festival celebrated its ten years of existence, a decade of poems whispered into the ears of Gaillac's residents. Ten years of unlikely encounters between artists from all over France and the inhabitants of a wine-growing town in the Tarn. Ten years of proof that poetry can find its way everywhere, touch anyone, and transform, even fleetingly, our view of the world.