Reading Club: EntreLinhas went out into the city, and Lisbon replied with stories
The last two sessions of the 24/25 academic year of the EntreLinhas Reading Club, from the School of Communication and Media Studies (ESCS), at the Polytechnic University of Lisbon (IPL), were special.
In June, EntreLinhas presented two community cultural resources to its members.
From 10 to 80, readers came together at Espaço Ulmeiro
The 6th session of EntreLinhas took place on June 18, the date on which the International Day for Countering Hate Speech is celebrated, at Espaço Ulmeiro, a historic bookstore in Benfica that is over 50 years old.
At the meeting we had the privilege of having the presence and participation of the bookstore’s founder, José Antunes Ribeiro.
“The words are all on the inside,” a poem by André Tecedeiro [“As palavras estão todas do lado de dentro”, in the original], set the tone for the conversation.
Using books chosen by participants (brought from home or available at the venue), this was a moment of dialogue and reflection on communication and citizenship practices guided by respect, dignity and human rights.
The diversity of ages among the participants – from 10 to 83 years old – greatly enriched the conversation. The discussion touched not only on the political and institutional layers of hate speech, but also on its roots in everyday behavior – such as interactions between classmates at school.
Books that served as inspiration during the session: Inés da minha alma, de Isabel Allende (Bertrand Brasil); Todos Devemos Ser Feministas, de Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (D. Quixote); A Educação dos Genes – Uma viagem às origens biológicas do comportamento humano, de Luís Bigotte de Almeida (Climepsi Editores); The book of joy, de Desmond Tutu e Dalai Lama com Douglas Abrams (Cornerstone); Deus na escuridão, de Valter Hugo Mãe (Porto Editora); A família dos Mumins, de Tove Jansson (Relógio d’Água); O triunfo dos porcos, de George Orwell (D. Quixote); e A axila de Egon Schiele [poesia reunida 2014-2020], de André Tecedeiro (Porto Editora).
Fernando Pessoa at Mensagem ao Vivo
On July 21st (7th session), EntreLinhas took the ESCS-IPL community to Mensagem ao Vivo, a show that, according to Mensagem de Lisboa, “it’s not theater, it’s not journalism… it’s a mix of both.” The digital newspaper brings to the stage real stories told by its protagonists and journalists.
This meeting was dedicated to celebrating the diversity of the city of Lisbon, raising awareness about the importance of improving accessibility and inclusion, but also featuring first-person stories about the relationship between the experience of the city and the creation of meaning, through art, writing, music and photography.
During the session, writer Ricardo Belo de Morais spoke about how Fernando Pessoa drew inspiration from the city of Lisbon, its songs, colors, passersby, and familiar characters. The curator of the Casa Fernando Pessoa also characterized the poet as a very diverse person even in his own time.
The EntreLinhas Reading Club will return next school year, with a session already scheduled for September 26.
