The experience of the time I spent in Olot, at Faber, with the Mireia Calafell translators, was absolutely first-rate. Meeting people who work in the same thing you do is always rewarding in itself, but a group consciousness does not always develop, or not as quickly as it did for us thanks to poetry and translation. Above all, I would like to thank Faber and the Institut Ramon Llull (the company and kindness of Misia, Pepa and the other organisers) for offering us this idyllic setting and ideal context for the encounter of cultures, curiosities and readings.

The first day's programme, after learning about Mireia Calafell's career, involved reading poems translated from our languages and the way they can begin to dialogue with what Mireia does. It was an extraordinary experience. The translation sessions and different problems that translators from distinct cultures and languages encountered were also of great interest, not only because we were able to learn about the peculiarities of other languages (which we did, of course), but above all because it often made us see aspects that we hadn't considered before. I therefore think that the very interpretation of the poems – always the first step in the translation process – became much more profound.

After the time in Olot, I went home eager to continue translating Mireia Calafell's poems (plus what I now know about her, because before this I had only had access to one of her books) and keen to get to know other contemporary Catalan poets. And, of course, I returned to my country with beautiful memories of Olot, the sessions, the talks, the conversations, our final show at the Isop bookstore and the many moments of poetry we experienced.