Works of 80 Portuguese authors for sale at the Book Fair in Berlin
The second edition of the Camões Berlin Book Fair, where more than 200 titles from 80 authors from Portuguese-speaking countries will be available, starts next Wednesday and lasts three days.
Works by writers like Hélia Correia, Germano Almeida, Mia Couto, Sophia de Mello Breyner, Pepetela, Jorge Amado, José Saramago or Manuel Antonio Pina will be able to be acquired. But also books by authors who have already passed through the Leipzig Book Fair, such as Isabela Figueiredo, Almeida Faria, Patrícia Portela and João Tordo.
The aim of this initiative, says Patrícia Severino, cultural advisor to the Portuguese embassy in Berlin, is “to guarantee the public living in the German capital more accessibility to Portuguese-language literature.”
This year, the novelty is a literary program, parallel to the three days of fair.
At the opening, on Wednesday, the ‘Je Suis Bovary’ event will take place, a talk and pre-launch of ‘Conversa ao vivo’ (audiobook, CD or Vinyl) by and with the Portuguese writer Patrícia Portela.
“This ‘Conversa al vivo’ is the result of my previous show in partnership with Leonor Barata. This postal disc, which will be released now on CD or in Vinyl, and which can be sent, is an edition from a series of conversations and shows that we did during 2017 and 2018, in various places in Portugal, about love, from texts of poets, especially Portuguese (but also German), “explains Patrícia Portela.
It is the first album by the Portuguese writer and author of several artistic projects, “a hybrid object, containing postcards, poems, conversations, that invites everybody to take a turntable, to drop the mobile phones and to talk about love around of a table, with a glass of wine, a cheese, or simply with good friends. ”
Patrícia Portela was the winner of the first issue of Literary Residency Scholarship of Camões Berlin. From that month in the German capital, the book ‘Dias Úteis’ was born.
“It was an incredible experience, a turning point for me. Berlin is a great place to work, I remember writing a lot, watching shows and exhibitions. always to Berlin, “confides the writer.
In addition to this inauguration event, the 29th (Thursday) will be dedicated to evoke José Saramago, in the year in which he celebrates 20 years of awarding the Nobel Prize for Literature, with readings of excerpts from the book ‘Viaje a Portugal’ by the actor Jochen Nix, accompanied by a wine tasting, conducted by the winemaker Teresa Rosário.
The closing of the Book Fair, on the 30th (Friday) will be marked by a reading session with the Brazilian poets Adelaide Ivánova and Érica Zíngano, the German poet and translator Odile Kennel and the Portuguese poets Tiago Cutileiro and Nuno Moura, also the editor of Douda Correria.
“This Book Fair is part of the strategy of Camões Berlin that has been guided by the search for continuity projects such as the creation of a Literary Residence Scholarship, which will have its fourth edition in 2019, its presence with a literary program at the Fairs the Leipzig and Frankfurt Book, the visits of German-language editors to Portugal, the very close work with translators and the permanent availability of excerpts translated from Portuguese-speaking authors to German-language publishers, “says Patrícia Severino, director of Camões Berlin.
Portugal is the guest country of the Leipzig Book Fair, which will take place in 2021.
