Ibiza-born poet Ben Clark returns to the island’s literary scene on Thursday, 15 October 2026, to present his new poetry collection, Semiótica nuclear, at the Sa Cultural bookshop in Ibiza Town. The event begins at 19:30 and will take the form of a conversation with poet Julio Herranz, exploring the book’s ideas about communication, memory and what humanity leaves behind.

Although its starting point is the threat posed by buried nuclear waste, Clark says the collection is not simply a book about ecology or catastrophe. Instead, it asks how one civilisation might communicate with another that emerges thousands of years later, when languages, symbols and cultural references may no longer be understood.

For Clark, the questions raised by the book also have a direct connection to Ibiza’s future. He argues that the island’s growing pressure from tourism and development makes it necessary to reconsider what should be preserved and what needs to change.

A Poetry Collection Inspired by Nuclear Waste and Future Civilisations

Published by Visor Libros, Semiótica nuclear grew out of Clark’s discovery of the Human Interference Task Force, a US initiative developed in the early 1980s. The group brought together people from different disciplines to consider how future generations could be warned about the dangers of nuclear waste buried underground.

The challenge is an extraordinary one: how can people today leave a message that will remain meaningful to societies thousands of years in the future, when the language and symbols used now may have lost their meaning?

Clark uses this premise to explore the limits of communication, the fragility of cultural memory and the uncertainty surrounding humanity’s legacy. The prospect of a future civilisation encountering the remnants of our own becomes a way to reflect on the things people consider important and the traces they hope to leave behind.

The poet has described communication as the book’s central concern. Rather than offering a straightforward environmental warning, the collection considers what defines us, how meaning is transmitted and whether people separated by vast stretches of time could understand one another.

Why Ben Clark Connects the Book to Ibiza’s Future

Clark believes the collection also invites reflection on the direction Ibiza is taking. He describes the island as increasingly treated as a product, arguing that the pressures of tourism and development raise difficult questions about the island’s cultural and ecological future.

He says the book’s themes prompt a broader question for Ibiza: what aspects of island life should be protected, and what changes are necessary to preserve them?

For Clark, the answer involves reconsidering the assumption that continued growth is always desirable. He argues that degrowth is the only way to save Ibiza, a position he recently discussed during the Iberian Ecopoetry gathering Oikos Redondo IV in Lepe, where he exchanged ideas with ecologist and philosopher Jorge Riechmann, among others.

In Clark’s view, public opposition to the proposed expansion of Ibiza Airport is helping bring the question of limits into the debate. He sees it as part of a wider discussion about how the island can protect the qualities that make it distinctive.

His comments reflect his own perspective on Ibiza’s development. The book itself, he stresses, is primarily concerned with communication and legacy, but those ideas can also be applied to the choices facing the island today.

An Evening of Literature and Conversation at Sa Cultural

The presentation offers readers an opportunity to hear Clark discuss the ideas behind his latest collection and how its unusual starting point developed into a work of poetry.

He will be joined by Julio Herranz, a poet who has lived in Ibiza for more than 50 years and has been closely involved in the island’s cultural life. The conversation is expected to explore the creative process behind Semiótica nuclear, the challenges of imagining communication across civilisations and the book’s broader questions about memory and legacy.

Born in Santa Gertrudis in 1984, Clark has built a recognised career in contemporary Spanish poetry. His previous distinctions include the Hiperión Poetry Prize in 2006, the RNE Ojo Crítico Award in 2014, the Loewe Poetry Prize in 2017 for La policía celeste, and the 2024 Critics’ Prize for Spanish-language poetry for Demonios.

He is also a translator, directs the Isla Elefante publishing imprint and works in poetry education.

Event Details

• Event: Presentation of Semiótica nuclear

• Author: Ben Clark

• Date: Thursday, 15 October 2026

• Time: 19:30

• Venue: Sa Cultural bookshop, Ibiza Town

• In conversation with: Julio Herranz

• Publisher: Visor Libros

Clark’s presentation brings together poetry, questions about humanity’s long-term legacy and a debate about the future of Ibiza. While Semiótica nuclear imagines the difficulty of communicating with civilisations yet to come, its central question also resonates in the present: what do we want to leave behind, and what must we change to protect what matters?