São Paulo – Moroccan writer and filmmaker Abdellah Taïa is one of the foreign authors invited for the 13th Ceará International Book Biennial taking place from August 16 to 25 at the Events Center in Ceará state capital Fortaleza. Taïa, who was born in Morocco and lives in France, has published eight novels, most of which are autobiographical. He’s known as the first Arab writer who went public with his homosexuality, 13 years ago.
According to the Biennial’s coordinator Goreth Albuquerque, the invitation made to Taia originated from the board of curators, comprising Ana Miranda, Inês Pinheiro and Carlos Vasconcelos. According to Goreth, one of the Biennial’s concerns is with diversity of narratives, and the Moroccan writer provides that, as well as quality literature and an interesting discourse.
Taïa’s He Who Is Worthy of Love is out in Brazil from publishing house Editora Nós. The book is a compilation of letters from Ahmed, a Moroccan homosexual living in Paris, to his deceased mother, to the lover who he left Morocco for France with, another past lover, and a childhood friend. Subjects include homosexuality, Ahmed’s relationship with his mother, his ties with Morocco, and Arab identity in French society.
The Biennial is themed Cities and Books – which relates to the Moroccan’s profile of a writer living away from his birthplace. “His literature converses with the theme. It speaks of being away while holding on to one’s culture, it speaks of the place of immigration,” Goreth told ANBA over the phone. The notion of “cities” here is understood as more than just urban dwelling places; it also concerns the personal place that informs one’s own geography, according to the coordinator.
Taïa is expected to sit on a panel on ‘Cities’ alongside another author and a moderator. He’s also slated to join ‘Biennial outside the Biennial’ events elsewhere in the city and in other cities. Goreth believes it’d be interesting for Taia to sit down and talk with young people from the outskirts. “He’s still really young and his narrative is very contemporary, it speaks to the questions of identity and youth,” she says.
The schedule for the Biennial is still being worked on, but the international guest authors usually engage with audiences and in activities in the event’s many discussion and exhibition spaces, including ‘reader clubs.’
Past editions of the Ceará international Book Biennial have seen about 55,000 visitors a day. The event gets attended by writers, publishers, teachers/professors and lots of students. It will feature ten days’ worth of exhibits, lectures, panels, conferences, storytelling, book launches and artist performances.
Instead of writers, this Biennial will honor books: Mia Couto’s Sleepwalking Land, Raduan Nassar’s To the Left of the Father and Natércia Campos’s A Casa. Authors including Frei Betto, Luciana Villas-Bôas, Marco Lucchesi, Mia Couto, Socorro Acioli, Antônio Torres, Chico Alvim, Descartes Gadelha, Fausto Nilo and Raduan Nassar have confirmed theire attendance. Nassar is of Arab descent.
The Biennial is hosted by the Ceará government’s Secretariat for Culture, in partnership with Instituto Dragão do Mar, with backing from the Brazilian Ministry of Citizenship, via the Rouanet Culture Incentive Act. Admission is Free.
Quick facts
13th Ceará International Book Biennial
August 16-25, 2019
Centro de Eventos do Ceará
Avenida Washington Soares, 999 – Fortaleza – CE
Free admission
Find out more here
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
