We are now in Rio, in Santa Teresa in the Bianca guest house which overlooks Sugar Loaf mountain. From my window I can see the cable car going from one side of the mountain to another mountain. Having seen the plumbing and the electricity cables hanging precariously all over Brazil, I wonder how that…
As I write this, it is raining in Paraty. It is still beautiful, but its cold. The weather also occupied the mind of one of the writers I saw on day 5. Hanif Kureishi, (English mother, Pakistani father), grew up in Britain in the 1970’s. He said he “started writing to stop going mad”. He…
The day started with a press conference with Ian McEwan. He was his gentle mediative self and shared his love of Brazil. He first came to Brazil with his son in 2004 and his son said at the time Paraty had been the best 15 hours in Ian`s diary. His son, Gregory met a girl…
On Day 3, I attended a mix bag of sessions. The first session celebrated the poems of Drummond. In the next session Stephen Greenblatt and James Shapiro, shared their love of Shakespeare. Later in the day, Granta provided the space for two British writers to reflect on what being British means. Two Middle Eastern writers…
On day two, I covered some new Brazilian writers, who use death as their underlying theme, some interviews, in particular Liz Calder, President of the Paraty Festival, James Shapiro, Shakespearean scholar and the author Jonathan Franzen. Granta magazine in Brazil also announced the winners of their new writer’s competition. The day finished with a large…
Trying to work in Paraty has so far been a frustrating experience. The main event last night, which was sold out many weeks ago, was not the most compelling experience I had hoped it would be, having read some good things about Paraty. I am hoping today will be better. The organisational issues for…
The population of Paraty swells from 35,000 to 100,00 today, as book enthusiasts overwhelm the town. The opening ceremony starts at 7pm Brazil time, which is 4 hours behind the UK and Portugal. The programme went on the Flip website a few days ago and paper copies were available yesterday. The Portuguese are notorious…
Sitting under a willow tree, near the cobbled streets of Paraty, I am wondering why book lovers would make the long journey to this International Literature Festival. Our journey has taken a month, as we decided that if we wanted to go to the Festival we should also have a good look around Brazil. We…
The UK Poet Laureate, Carol Anne Duffy, has invited some of the better known poets, to reflect on ageing. Speaking in the Guardian on Saturday, she says, “Our Society. I believe, is turning gradually away from its obsession with “yoof” and “slebs”. “We are beginning to realise that we face, at the very least, an…
There is a peculiar bond that begins to emerge when women meet regularly to read together. It also becomes a rallying cry when you sit in a cafe and over hear someone say “we are reading such and such in our book club”. It is as though you could be linked in some way, as…