Buenos Aires Bookworms’ in Paradise at the 34th International Book Fair

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International Book Fair

Thanks to Jordansmall for This Photo

On April 24, the doors of the Sociedad Rural in Palermo will open their doors wide to the general public when they inaugurate the 34th International Book Fair. The doors will close again on May 12. The fair is an exciting event, the most important of its kind in the Spanish-speaking world, gathering readers, authors, local and international, and top book distributors, publishing houses, painters, illustrators, librarians, educators and photographers.

Attendees will be able to talk to authors in person, ask them questions and, hopefully, get straight answers although this is not a forte in writers in general. Metaphors are more to their liking so be prepared to do some mental gymnastics when dealing with them face to face.

But, in this age of electronic media, do people still read books? I think the answer, fortunately, is yes they do, but not so much. Many Americans say they are spending less time reading magazines, newspapers and listening to the radio since the Internet made its debut. On average each week US citizens spend one hour reading magazines, two hours perusing newspapers and five hours tuning into the radio. In fact, they spend more time online than they do with all other media combined.

That said; let’s get back to the book fair. This year among the fair’s VIP international visitors will be: USA: Tom Wolfe and Linda Zerilli; UK: John B. Thompson; Italy: Niccolò Ammaniti and Paolo Fabbri; France: Barbara Cassin; Canada: Fernando de Toro and Naomí Klein; Spain: Baltasar Garzón and Almudena Grandes; Switzerland: Oliver Marchart and many more from Chile, Cuba, Nicaragua, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico and other Latin American countries.

Following are some of the more important events:

Local actors and communicators will read and talk about humor in Argentine literature.

The City at Night: Doors will be open until 2 am and entrance is free after 9 pm on April 30. Authors will be signing books during the night. Shows will be taking place and many surprises for attendees are planned.

The International Gathering: Under the slogan “The Reader’s Space,” important local and international visitors will participate. Plenty of discussion and debates will be going on. April 30, May 1, 8 – 10

The 13th Gathering of Oral Narration: Professionals will be letting the attendees in on the secrets of good oral narration. May 2 – 4

Third International Poetry Festival: Famous local and international poets will read poetry and later open them for discussion. May 6- 9

Free Cultural workshops and training courses will be taking place during the length of the fair. They will touch on subjects such as W. Shakespeare, María Esther de Miguel, César Vallejo, Julio Verne, opera, drama, rock and script writing.

Culture Corner: a series of interviews with prestigious writers. Professional actors will read excerpts from some of the authors’ works.

The Yupanqui Marathon will be dedicated to one of Argentina’s most famous folk music writer and singer. This event is to celebrate what would have been Atahualpa Yupanqui’s 100th birthday. The best local folk music interpreters will sing and play his music.

Haute Cuisine will also be part of the fair where authors and chefs will prepare their favorite foods and drinks.

A Tribute to Planet Earth: an event specially designed for youth that will teach about how to care for the environment.

3 Comments

Adriane on April 23, 08

Very nice and informative!

Nico Olaciregui on May 1, 08

Thanks a lot for posting our site as the referal for Mtb in Salta, we alo do among other activities rock climbing (no one else does…)
Pls feel free to take any of our pictures for your site, and if you happen to need from any particular place just let us know.
Cheers.

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