In May, the Three Cultures Foundation of the Mediterranean is offering a very interesting literary conference entitled 'Mediterranean Letters'. The meeting, which will be held on 13 and 14 May in the Conference Hall of the Palace of Charles V in the Alhambra and Generalife Monumental Complex in Granada, will feature exceptional writers such as Hisham Matar, Theodor Kallifatides, Tatiana Tîbuleac and Nuccio Ordine, among others.
The Three Cultures Foundation of the Mediterranean promotes dialogue as the main tool for bringing peoples and cultures closer together. To this end, few instruments are as useful and effective as words. For this reason, Mediterranean literature has always occupied a fundamental place in the Foundation's programming.
The aim of 'Mediterranean Letters' is to use the words of well-known authors from both sides of the Mediterranean to create a space for understanding and reflection. These are days to read and be read, to enjoy the best literature with a Mediterranean stamp, such as Hisham Matar, Theodor Kallifatides, Tatiana Țîbuleac, Nuccio Ordine, Mohamed El Morabet, María Belmonte and the duo MartayMicó, who will offer a poetic-musical recital
The aim is that, from this first edition, 'Mediterranean Letters' will be consolidated in the international calendar of literary festivals as an essential event that will give Mediterranean literature the deserved place it merits in today's literary panorama.
Admission is free to all events, subject to prior registration and until full capacity is reached. Invitations to attend each of the presentations can be arranged through the Three Cultures Foundation website.
Programme:
Friday, 13 May
11.30 h. Presentation and opening poetic-musical recital with MartayMicó.
Mediterranean music and poetry will serve to open the festival with the Spanish duo MartayMicó and their very personal way of combining verse and song.
17.00 h. Conversation with Mohamed El Morabet
Mohamed El Morabet, born in the Moroccan Rif but settled in Spain as a teenager, belongs to a small group of young writers of Maghrebi origin who have chosen to write in the language of their adopted country. He will talk with Elena Arigita, lecturer in Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Granada, about his new novel 'El invierno de los jilgueros' (Galaxia de Gutenberg, 2022), which won last year's 15th Malaga Novel Prize, and about how the language of narration helps to forge one's own identity.
At 18.15 there will be a book signing.
18.30 h. Conversation with Theodor Kallifatides
The Greek writer and filmmaker Theodor Kallifatides became one of the phenomena of 2019 with his book 'Another Life to Live', published by Galaxia Gutenberg, winner of the Cálamo "Extraordinary 2019" Prize. He has published more than forty books of fiction, essays and poetry translated into several languages, for which he has received numerous awards throughout his career, including the Greek National Award for Testimonial Literature for 'The past is not a dream' (2013). He will talk with his publisher Joan Tarrida about his latest novel, 'Timandra', about his work as a whole and about the possibilities of literature to transform reality.
At 7.45 p.m., copies of the book will be signed.
Saturday, 14th May
11:00 h. Conversation with María Belmonte
María Belmonte, a technical and literary translator by profession, launched into the literary world with 'Pilgrims of Beauty: Travellers through Italy and Greece' (Acantilado, 2015), in which she expresses her passion for the Mediterranean. Her works combine essays, biographical accounts and travel literature. Her latest published work, 'In the Land of Dionysus. Wanderings in Northern Greece’ recreates the most remote Greek Macedonia. She will talk about the poetic ideal of the Mediterranean with the editor of Acantilado, Sandra Ollo (to be confirmed).
At 12.15 there will be a book signing.
12.30 h. Conversation with Tatiana Țîbuleac
Tatiana Țîbuleac is the author of a literary production in the Romanian language that is still brief, but already recognised at the forefront of European literature. In Spain, the publishing house Impedimenta has published her novels ' The Summer My Mother's Green Eyes' and 'The Glass Garden', a work set in the last years of the Soviet occupation of Moldavia with many autobiographical components, for which she won the European Union Prize for Literature. She will talk with the poet Erika Martínez about the power of love and forgiveness.
At 13.45 there will be a signing of copies.
17.00 h. Conversation with Hisham Matar
Hisham Matar grew up in Tripoli and Cairo and has spent most of his adult life in England. The loss of his father is a constant in the life and work of this Libyan-born author. His debut novel, 'Alone in the World' (Salamandra), was translated into thirty languages and won six international literary awards, and with 'The Return' he won the Pulitzer Prize. He will talk with the writer Andrés Neuman about his latest novel, 'A Month in Siena', in which he explores the impact of art on life and writing, while reflecting on mourning.
At 6.15 p.m. the author will sign copies.
18.30 h. Closing lecture by Nuccio Ordine. 'In Praise of Books and Human Solidarity'.
Nuccio Ordine is a humanist, philosopher and expert in Italian literature known above all for his studies on the Renaissance and Giordano Bruno. He became known in Spain a few years ago, when the publishing house Acantilado published 'The utility of the useless' and 'Classics for life: a small ideal library'. In his speech, he will stress the importance of books, culture and classics in building a better society through humanist values.
At 19.45, copies will be signed.