‘Writers from Portugal’

Portugal is often associated with writers such as Fernando Pessoa or Jose Saramago. Though, the country has so much more literary talent to offer. BOZAR and Instituto Camoes present an evening with three generations of Portuguese writers. Dulce Maria Cardoso, Miguel Miranda and Valério Romão gather for a literary talk about writing in times of crisis. The heydays and aftermath of Portugal’s totalitarian and colonial regimes formed generations of writers. But what’s the effect of Europe’s current political and economical crises on Portuguese writers? Which stories does a former colonial power such as Portugal tell in the post-colonial world of today? Challenging questions to be answered by great literary minds.
The talk will be moderated by Joaquim Pinto da Silva, director of the Portugese bookshop Orfeu.
To our great regret, Teolinda Gersão has cancelled her presence. 

Dulce Maria Cardoso (1964) spent her childhood in Luanda, Angola after her parents moved there when she was an infant. Her family returned to Portugal following the Angolan War of Independence in 1975. She studied law at the University of Lisbon and worked as a lawyer before becoming a full-time writer. Her work was awarded with the Grand Prize Acontece de Romance,  the EU Prize for Literature and  the Portuguese Pen Club Award.

Miguel Miranda was born in Porto in 1956. He is the author of novels and thrillers and has received various literary awards including the Literary Prize of Association of Portuguese Writers and the Caminho Prize.

Valério Romão (1974) is one of the most important young voices in Portuguese literature today since his debut in 2012. He wrote novels, short stories collections and plays. His short stories were published by the famous English magazine Granta and being made into a short film by Gonçalo Waddington, the widely acclaimed Portuguese actor and director. The French translation of his novel Autismo (2016) was shortlisted for the Femina Award.