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Paraty, Day 5 – final day
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 shared he was racially abused daily as a child with the neighbours asking him at times “is it warm enough for you” or “where are you from.” As he pointed to the house in the street the neighbour would say “no, where are you really really from,” as though the double use of “really” would…
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Paraty, Day 4
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 and hás since learned Portuguêse. Father and son both love the sound of the Portuguese language, calling it “a rich wine sound. Paraty has a charm that the festival enhances its not like Hay. There are more people but the place is not overtaken and changed”. When asked what he would want from a Paraty…