Book biennial kicks off in Brasília

The biggest event dedicated to literature in Brazil’s central region is kicking off this Saturday and slated to end on August 26—the fourth edition of the Bienal Brasil do Livro e da Leitura. The biennial event is to include round tables, book launches, interviews with writers, artistic performances, tributes, and a wide range of stands set up by publishing houses and bookstores, unveiling releases and exclusive titles.

This year’s topic is “The Others are Us,” an invitation to dive into the other’s experience through literature.

Over the course of nine days, talks and debates will be held with renowned Brazilian authors and major names in world literature, who are expected to discuss such topics as identity in the 21st century, online literature, translation and creation, literary styles, fertilization and contamination of genres and languages, voices from Africa and Latin America, immigrants, history, the future of literary magazines, and more.

Children and adolescents tend to show great interest in books and reading. – Elza Fiúza / Agência Brasil's Collection

A tour across the world

The Bienal aims to take visitors on a tour through the most pungent topics in both Brazilian and international contemporary culture. To meet this goal, the Bienal is to bring for the first time to the country awarded Nigerian author Chigozie Obioma, who wrote the novel The Fishermen, often compared by critics to Khaled Hosseini’s acclaimed literary classic The Kite Runner.

Inspiration for this edition was drawn from Umberto Eco, in whose opinion “the book is still the ideal means for learning.” According to curator Sergio Leo, “in the fragmented outlook of today’s society, books still enable us to dive into the other’s experience. Good literature allows us to feel empathy for the different and strangeness with the familiar. It brings us to realize, sometimes in bewilderment, that the others are us.”

This year, tribute is paid to Brazilian educator Gina Vieira Ponte, who created the award-winning project Mulheres Inspiradoras (“Inspired Women”), aimed at stimulating the reading of important female writers and encouraging children and adolescents to tell their own stories. She is slated to deliver a lecture during the opening ceremony of the event, on Saturday (18), at 7 pm.

The Bienal is open from 9 am to 10 pm at the Centro de Convenções Ulysses Guimarães. Entrance is free of charge. More information can be found on the website www.bbll.com.br, in Portuguese.