The Mayor of Praia da Vitória believes that the presence on Terceira Island for a month of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Olga Tokarczuk, starting the Literary Residencies in the City of Nemésio project, promoted by the municipality, is a “huge asset in promoting the municipality and the island as privileged spaces for artistic creation.”

Vânia Ferreira, who spoke at the Tribute to the Polish writer, which took place at the end of Saturday afternoon, the 15th, at the Terceira Island Youth and Arts Academy, based her statement on Olga Tokarczuk’s willingness to promote Praia da Vitória and Terceira as “privileges to be discovered by international writers.”

“Her availability is a huge gain for this project, which, we have been told, is unique in the region and, from the outset, in the country due to its size in time and the presence of such a renowned name as the Nobel Prize winner. I know that Mother Nature means a lot to you. I hope she takes it to the four corners of the world so we can learn to protect it relentlessly,” said the mayor.

“We want, through the presence of national or international writers, to encourage knowledge of our territory; we want to encourage artistic creativity; we want to open up new ways of knowing and seeing this paradise located in the navel of the North Atlantic, between the two shores of the ocean, a bridge between the Americas, old Europe, and Africa. For several years, the “Outono Vivo” Literary Festival has been a stage for this intention.
The literary residencies in the city of Nemésio are a new chapter in this ambition to consolidate Praia da Vitória and Terceira Island as a space for literary and artistic creation,” explained Vânia Ferreira.

“We are the land of Nemésio. But we want to be the land of new names in literature and other world arts. We are a land of peaceful people. But we want to feed the restlessness of minds and souls, exploring dreams and ambitions, opening horizons, and setting our sights on the future, certain of our identity but committed to sailing other seas. We are a land of nature and sea. But we are certain that the challenges they pose can be overcome through creativity. That’s what drives us. That’s our purpose,” he said.

The Town Hall organized a tribute ceremony for Polish writer Olga Tokarczuk, who was awarded the Swedish Academy Prize in 2019, on the last day of her stay on Terceira Island.

The Mayor presented the writer with a unique edition of the book “Lady Bobs, her brother and I,” produced by the Azorean publishing house Letras Lavadas and kept in a box produced by the Lajense craftsman Francisco Pereira.

“It’s a symbolic gift, because it contains the nature of our best-known wood, something very important to the writer, as well as a very special edition by Letras Lavadas, which has joined in this moment for the launch throughout the archipelago of this novel set in the Azores and published in the United States in 1905,” explained Vânia Ferreira.

Speaking in English, Olga Tokarczuk expressed her gratitude for the gesture and the hospitality she received and expressed her willingness to promote Praia da Vitória to fellow writers.

“You are guardians of a treasure. Cherish it. It is enormously valuable. I want to help by bringing my stories about this paradise to others. But it must not be spoiled,” said the Nobel laureate.

Publisher Ernesto Rezendes, who explained the book’s reissue, and journalist Ana Daniela Soares, who presented the work, attended the ceremony.

Also present was the Regional Director for Culture, Sandra Garcia, representing the President of the Government of the Azores, who praised the municipality’s literary residency and the municipal executive’s commitment to promoting literature and the arts.

Between May and June, Polish writer Olga Tokarczuk, winner of the 2019 Nobel Prize for Literature, lived on Terceira Island as part of the first Literary Residencies in the City of Nemésio, promoted by the municipality in partnership with the Lar Doce Ler Association.

Translated from a Press Release from the Municipality of Praia da Vitória

Photos from Praia da Vitória