Literature and nature. A perfect pairing for which the Libraries of Barcelona are committed, which have promoted the first Literature Festival, which is celebrated between October 8 and 9. The contest will take place at the Collserola - Josep Miracle Library due to its location within the Collserola Park and its specialization in nature and sustainability writing.
The central axis of the festival will be the presence of local, national and international authors to give a global vision of what is happening in the literary field on the subject of nature and how each of the authors deals with it. Round tables, screening of a documentary, workshops and concerts will be the events that will fill the agenda this weekend.
The contest will feature the artist and muralist Lily Brick, who will work on a mural during the Literature celebration, informed the Barcelona Libraries. Lily Brick is the author of more than 400 murals in very diverse places, among which those made in France, Gambia, Holland, Sweden, India, Germany and Morocco stand out. Her work draws attention to women with a strong and intense look, in an impressionist language made with spray, which gives prominence to customs and folkloric themes.
This morning, the writer Jesús Carrasco opened the festival in a conversation with Pilar Sampietro, speaking of the impact of nature on his work and focusing especially on the novel Intemperie (Seix Barral, 2013). The book made Carrasco one of the most dazzling figures on the international literary scene. The novel has received national and international awards, has been translated into 28 languages and adapted to the cinema. His second book, La Tierra Que Pimosos (Seix Barral, 2016), was awarded the European Union Prize for Literature.
In the afternoon, the pastor Vanesa Freixa and the writer Gabi Martínez exchanged views on their work, rural news and the story of the countryside that reaches the city. Freixa, a graduate in fine arts, is a dynamizer and activist in the rural world. She directed the School of Pastors of Catalonia (2009-2016) and the Obrador Xisqueta association. Now, she dedicates herself to creation and also to dissemination and thought around rurality.
The work of Gabi Martínez (Barcelona, 1971) has been translated into ten languages and adapted to various formats. The writer has received different awards and recognitions thanks to non-fiction books such as Only for Giants, A Change of Truth or Lagarta and the novels Voy and Las Defensas. Martínez is the director of the Literature Festival; founding member of the Caravana Negra and Lagarta Fernández associations; of the Urban and Territorial Ecology Foundation; and co-director of the Invisible Animals project.
