16th Paraty International Literary Festival kicks off
The Paraty International Literary Festival, Flip, is starting its 16th edition tonight (Jul. 25) with a performance celebrating the transgressive nature of the work of Hilda Hilst, the Brazilian writer honored this year.
Flip curator Joselia Aguiar believes that the choice of Hilda Hilst will promote existential and philosophical discussions in the event without leaving aside the diversity seen in the previous edition, when a tribute was paid to Lima Barreto, a black author whose literary project concerned social issues in a country scarred by centuries of slavery.
“Flip this year focuses on the world within. We have a plural program with both male and female, black and white authors, talking about concepts like love, death, desire, transgression in art, writing, and also more passionate debates.”
Existential topics, Aguiar goes on to say, are also universal, and stem from the work of the author herself before it finds this year’s guests, who come from such countries as Russia, Congo, Egypt, Portugal, and Argentina.
International guests include Pulitzer prize–winner Colson Whitehead and Lyudmila Petrushevskaya, counted among Russia’s most renowned voices in horror literature.
In addition to the big screen set up in the central area of Paraty, a historical city on the coast of Rio de Janeiro, the round tables this year will be streamed online, on Flip’s YouTube channels, where discussions from previous editions are also available.
