The Mayor of Ponta Delgada, Pedro Nascimento Cabral, said this last weekend that the city is “proud” of the result of the Literary Marathon, an initiative “unprecedented in the country” that was promoted by the publisher Letra Lavadas with the city government.

“Today, Ponta Delgada feels proud and projected through Culture. Therefore, with great satisfaction, we attended this book’s launch, which was brilliantly written and edited in 24 hours. Even more so, when we saw it presented here, in a renovated historic center and returned to the people, allowing a real interaction between the book and the city “, began by highlighting Pedro Nascimento Cabral at the closing session of the Literary Marathon that took place in the extension of the Praça do Município, giving way to the presentation of the book ’24 Literary Marathon – 24 hours / 24 writers’. “We agree with Letras Lavadas regarding the need to bring books back to the table, involving authors like the 24 who were part of this Literary Marathon, unprecedented and pioneering in our country and which had an extraordinary adhesion”, underlined the Mayor, praising the literary richness that the collective of writers lent to the work.

“In a year in which we celebrate the 100 years of the birth of Natalia Correia and which is marked by our tribute to Culture, I must emphasize these writers’ contribution and extraordinary quality. This generation of authors deserves, in fact, our admiration, and I do not doubt that, through their words, they will also be positively influencing future generations “he also made a point of stressing.  

The Literary Marathon took 24 authors with books published or marketed by the publisher Letras Lavadas to write in 24 different places in Ponta Delgada. This initiative had the collaboration of the writers Susana Goulart Costa, Hélio Soares, João Pedro Porto, José Andrade, Teófilo Braga, João Miranda, Susana Rodrigues, Telmo Nunes, Paula Sousa Lima and Ângela Almeida, Madalena São Bento, Maria João Ruivo, Malvina Sousa, Carolina Bettencourt, Leonor Sampaio da Silva, Hélder Medeiros, Orquídea Abreu, Pedro Paulo Câmara, Fernanda Mendes, Henrique Levy, Aníbal Pires, Sidónio Bettencourt, Carolina Cordeiro, and Carlos Tomé.

The owner and editor of Letras Lavadas, Ernesto Resendes, made a “very positive assessment of the project,” considering that the objectives it set out to achieve have been achieved, namely those of “disseminating literature, the city of Ponta Delgada and the Azores”.

He also revealed the ambition of, in future editions and new collaborations with the Municipality of Ponta Delgada, “bringing children from the Free Time Workshops to the authors, contributing to increasing their literary level” and inviting writers of “national and international renown” to participate in the initiative.

The book was presented by the writer and humorist Luís Filipe Borges, a moment that was preceded by the inauguration of the photographic exhibition by Paulo Goulart on the south side of Largo da Igreja da Matriz, where the public can enjoy it, as it summarizes the monitoring done and is the result of his photographic look at the 24 authors at their time and place of writing.

From the Correio dos Açores newspaper, Natalino Vivieros-director.

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Cultures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Medial Alliance)  at California State University, Fresno.

A very special congratulatory note to the entire Letras Lavadas and Nova Gráfica Team, as well as the Municpality of Ponta Delgada, for this very special idea. These events make a big the difference in the literary world. The event also involved the Urban Sketchers, making it a truly all around artistic journey.

Pictures by Paulo Cabral – Nova Gráfica and Letras Lavadas