Biennial Book Fair awards Ariano Suassuna and Eduardo Galeano
Ariano Suassuna
Brazilian author Ariano Suassuna received a Troféu Bienal award on Tuesday (Apr. 15) at the 2nd Biennial Book Fair (2ª Bienal Brasil do Livro e da Leitura). Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano had also been honored for political and literary achievement.
Biennial coordinator Nilson Rodrigues said that the award given to Suassuna is also a “tribute to the Northeast writers who have enriched their culture and made Brazilian culture greater.”
In his remarks on the choices made by the event organizers, Rodrigues said that Suassuna and Galeano have both “contributed works that epitomize Latin American people.” Suassuna was particular about calling his people “great” when he asked the audience to be patient about the difficulties faced by Brazil. “We are bound to have a country that matches the greatness of Brazilians,” he said.
Recognized for a vast output ranging from drama to novels to poetry to critical reviews on arts and culture, Suassuna delighted the audience with one of his performance lectures. Passionate and keen on “laughing and making people laugh,” as he puts it, the 86-year-old author and advocate for popular culture is preparing an epistolary novel called Um jumento sedutor (“The charming donkey”).
Translated by Mayra Borges
Fonte: Biennial Book Fair awards Ariano Suassuna and Eduardo Galeano
