This Tuesday marked the beginning of the celebration of the centenary of José Saramago (Azinhaga 1922 – Lanzarote 2010) with the simultaneous reading, in schools in Portugal, Brazil, Lanzarote and the rest of the Canary Islands, of the Portuguese Nobel Prize winner's story “The Largest Flower in the World.”
Hundreds of 9 and 10 year old girls and boys read at the same time, in these four places, fragments of Saramago's story, one of the few that the author of “Blindness” dedicated to children.
In Portugal, 100 schools participated, while in the Canary Islands 30 did, of which 17 were in Lanzarote, the island where the Portuguese writer settled and resided for the last 17 years of his life.
The reading of “The Largest Flower in the World” is part of the Centenary events, which will take place between November 16, 2021 and November 16, 2022. The book tells the story of a boy who, traveling the world, finds a withered flower. "Oh! There is no water around here, this flower will die." And then he begins to look for water around the world, moves away from his home and crosses unknown landscapes looking for a way to save the flower.
It is a story "full of strength and energy", with a text full of symbols and enigmas that includes constants treated by the writer throughout his work, such as social responsibility, and some of full actuality, "such as concern for nature and the environment". The illustrations that accompany the edition read in Lanzarote, published by the Lumen publishing house and the José Saramago Foundation, are by André Letria.
The José Saramago Foundation, the Cabildo of Lanzarote, the Government of the Canary Islands, the Tías City Council and the Ministry of Culture collaborate in the organization of the Centenary events.
