The César Manrique Foundation (FCM) will host next Tuesday, October 1, at 7:00 p.m., in the José Saramago room of La Plazuela de Arrecife, the conference 'The Mouth of Literature', given by the writer Manuel Rivas. This activity is part of the program of activities for the centenary of the birth of César Manrique, which the institution that bears his name will celebrate until April 24, 2020.
According to Manuel Rivas, "the mouth of literature has no owner. It is not subordinate to any discourse, it is not subordinate to any power, it does not receive orders, nor does it intend to dominate. It is always eccentric, it walks along the shore, along the cliff, along the horizon line, from the unknown to the unknown."
During his speech, the writer will raise how, in his opinion, "literature is sewn to reality, but it also fights with the conventional and creates another reality, a rebellious, insurgent place, where words live on tenterhooks and put freedom in the very body of language. The mouth of literature reveals, but also enigmatizes. It helps to see what is not 'well seen': hidden, concealed or forbidden."
Manuel Rivas's intervention is included in the cycle 'The author and his work. Encounters with creators', in which José Saramago, Alberto Campo Baeza, Carmen Martín Gaite, José Ángel Valente, Susan Sontag, Juan Goytisolo, Eduardo Galeano, Günter Grass, Ángeles Mastretta, Eduardo Mendoza and Rosa Montero have participated, among others.
Narrator, poet and journalist
Manuel Rivas is a narrator, poet and journalist. He graduated in Information Sciences from the Complutense University of Madrid. He has worked in press, radio and television. He received the National Narrative Prize for his book of short stories 'What do you want from me, love?', which inspired the film 'Butterfly'.
He has been awarded the Critics' Prize for four of his novels, including 'The Carpenter's Pencil', also made into a film, and which has been translated into more than thirty languages. He was a Goya finalist for the screenplay of the film 'Todo es silencio'. His stories are collected in the volume 'The Strangest Thing', published by Alfaguara in 2012. He belongs to the Real Academia Galega and was invested as Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of A Coruña.
