The City Council of Seville, through the Tourism and Culture Area, presented today at the Felipe González Library the program with which the city will commemorate Book Day on April 23, consolidating a day that combines literary dissemination, citizen participation, and homage to key Sevillian figures in thought and written creation.
This year, the Murillo Gardens will be the main stage for the celebration, establishing itself as a reference location for literary events in the city. «With this new edition of the recovered Book Day, Seville reaffirms its vocation as a meeting place for authors, readers, and cultural agents, in a heritage environment of great symbolic value and accessible to all Sevillians,» said Angie Moreno, delegate of Tourism and Culture of the City Council of Seville.
The initiative, organized by the City Council of Seville with the sponsorship of Fundación Unicaja, has the collaboration of the Book Fair Association, a key entity in promoting literary culture in the city.
Program of activities
The day will begin in the morning with an inaugural event, followed by a tribute to the Sevillian writer Manuel Ferrand, one of the most unique voices of Andalusian thought in the 20th century. Author of novels, essays, and historical studies, Ferrand was an intellectual committed to the cultural identity of the south, with titles such as Don Lope de Sosa, The General’s Ring, or The Epic of Beato Diego.
Next, students from different educational centers will lead a collective reading of Don Quixote of La Mancha, as a gesture of continuity from the previous edition and as a symbol of intergenerational connection with classic literature.
In the afternoon, the Gardens will host the recital «Seville in a loud voice,» in which renowned authors and figures from the local literary scene will read their own and others’ texts about the city. Among others, participants include: Paco Robles, Lola Chaves, Ana Carvajal, José Luis Ordóñez, Marisa González, María José Calderón, Calista Sweet, Aurora López Gueto, Pablo Borrallo (Ateneo de Sevilla), Pilar Alcalá (Noches del Baratillo), and the Literary Cultural Association Luis Cernuda.
A city that reads, celebrates, and recognizes
Furthermore, the delegate of Culture, Angie Moreno, wanted to highlight the «commitment of the City Council of Seville to literature as a fundamental axis of the city’s cultural life. Book Day is an opportunity to showcase the creativity, thought, and effort of those who make the book their way of life. We also want this day to be a recognition of all sector agents; writers, publishers, bookstores, literary associations, and, of course, readers.»
Finally, the Culture councilor emphasized that «this day is part of the initiatives promoted by the City Council to promote reading and showcase the work of authors and cultural agents in the sector, including initiatives such as the Book Fair, the Fair of Antique and Used Books, or the Ibero-American Poetry Prize Hermanos Machado, one of the most prestigious literary awards in the Hispanic-American sphere.»
