Maria Firmina dos Reis will be honoured at the Festa Literária Internacional de Paraty 2022 which runs in Paraty, Brazil from November 23 – 27, 2022.
The Festa Literária Internacional de Paraty (International Literary Festival of Paraty – FLIP) is a literary festival held annually in Paraty, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil since 2003. It was founded by Bloomsbury Publishing co-founder Liz Calder, who lived in Brazil and was a literary agent to several Brazilian authors, using the Hay Festival in the United Kingdom as a model. It usually happens in early July although it is hosted in August during World Cup years like this one. In addition to lectures, discussions, and literary workshops, events for children and young people are also held.
This year, the festival is curated by journalist, translator, and publisher Fernanda Bastos, alongside the academics Milena Britto, and Pedro Meira Monteiro. Following the annual tradition of celebrating someone who has contributed significantly to Brazilian letters, the festival will honour Maria Firmina dos Reis. Reis was born on the island of São Luís, Maranhão, on March 11, 1822 and passed away at the age of 95. The primary school teacher published several works including the novel Úrsula (1959) considered the first novel by a Brazilian author and the short story A Escrava in Revista Maranhense where she described an active participant in the abolitionist cause.
Other invited guests are writer, and professor at Columbia University Saidiya Hartman who is one of the main intellectual references of the African diaspora, and Nobel laureate for literature 2022 Annie Ernaux. Some of the featured Brazilian guests will be Lilia Schwarcz, Cida Pedrosa, Ricardo Aleixo, Veronica Stigger, Geovani Martins, Amara Moira, Ricardo Lísias, Carol Bensimon, Cidinha da Silva, Cristhiano Aguiar, and Tamara Klink.
For more information about the festival, please click here.
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