The Mexican poet Coral Bracho, who yesterday received the FIL Prize for Literature in Romance Languages, highlighted the power of poetry to raise awareness
Poetry is a vital search through the power of language that not only delves into human sensitivity and seeks to transmit feelings and sensations in a unique way. It is also a way of approaching the complex universe that surrounds us, from a broad and encompassing perspective, and from a very close proximity to that which it seeks to share.”
Poetry and its thousand ways of raising human awareness about issues such as war, violence, discrimination, economic inequality, ecocide, was the central theme of the reception speech by the poet Coral Bracho, who yesterday received the FIL Prize of Literature in Romance Languages, endowed with 150 thousand dollars, during the inauguration of the 37th edition of the Guadalajara International Book Fair.
Presented by the writer Verónica Murguía, Bracho said that “I receive this award, as unexpected as it is moving, for my activity as a poet since my youth. An activity that I greatly enjoy and that has enriched my life in countless ways.”
Poetry made its way into a ceremony in which all the speeches evoked the legacy of Raúl Padilla, the founder and president of the FIL Guadalajara, who died last April, some delivered in a broken voice, and most of the attendees dressed in black.
“If we need something at this moment in human history, it is a new way of seeing. An analytical and critical capacity that allows us to find solutions that benefit human beings”, Coral Bracho, award-winning poet.
With the social sciences, history, neurosciences, biology and psychiatry, poetry shares the urgent need to ask: How is it possible that the human race continues to fight with all the violence imaginable against itself?
And how do governments that threaten the freedom and lives of those they govern continue to be imposed and accepted? ”she added.
And, in a subsequent press conference, the author of Fishes of Fleeting Skin (1977) and It Should Be a Misunderstanding (2018) concluded that “the fascinating thing about poetry is that it approaches everything: the smallest and the most complex, to the furthest distance, and it gets really close. And, of course, to other human beings in different social and political situations. “It is a form of awareness.”
For his part, the rector of the University of Guadalajara, Ricardo Villanueva, opened the participation with an emotional speech. “After 37 years, there is one thing we must always remember: we all have room here, because the FIL is organized by a university, but the FIL belongs to everyone.”
He highlighted that the European Union is the guest of honor this year. “It is no coincidence that in 2012 she received the Nobel Peace Prize for her contribution to the advancement of peace, reconciliation, democracy and human rights.
That peace that we need so much today and that we hope will soon reach our planet. Because war is always synonymous with human stupidity. Therefore, from this cultural and knowledge space, we express our deepest solidarity with all the victims of all wars,” he stated.
Before a full Juan Rulfo Auditorium, the rector highlighted that “this edition is different because we need a giant. It is very special, because the entire fair will also be a tribute to him,” referring to Raúl Padilla.
The 36th edition of the FIL was the last fair of his short-lived life, but the 37th will be marked in history as the beginning of his transcendence. There are people who are capable of changing the world with their ideas, he was one of those people. That was Raúl Padilla, the crazy one, the genius, the one out of the ordinary; but also, the human being from whose mind this fair was born,” he added, causing the audience to applaud for several minutes and stand up.
Present at the inauguration were, among others, the rector of UNAM, Leonardo Lomelí; Gautier Mignot, head of the Delegation of the European Union in Mexico and Marisol Schulz, director of the meeting.
THEY WILL HOLD AN INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF EDITORS
The capital of Jalisco will be the headquarters of the 34th International Congress of Editors, which will be held from December 3 to 6, 2024, announced yesterday Karine Pansa, president of the International Union of Editors, which has 101 members in 81 countries.
She commented that in her first year as helm of the organization, she has met with members from 30 countries.
Our sector is extremely important in terms of culture, education, research, employment and economy. Each market is different, but the fundamental challenges are usually similar,” she added during the inauguration of FIL Guadalajara.
Our two pillars are to promote author rights and freedom of publication. Freedom of publication is under threat: from the abuse of defamation laws, the pressures of social media to government censorship. This can affect all types of business, educational and academic books.
In Mexico, publishers of educational books have been deprived of their freedom to publish and have had to take their own government to court. We support them at all times,” said Karine Pansa.
And, regarding copyright, she said that “some of the largest companies in the world want to train their automatic writing machines, sorry, generative artificial intelligence, with books that we have published.
These companies very well recognize the value of professionally published books, but the problem is that they try to extract that value without a license and without remuneration. “This is not fair and we will fight hard against it,” she said.
Source: Excelsior
