Festival Camões in Oloron Sainte-Marie, France
At the invitation of the Association France-Portugal, I was in Oloron Sainte-Marie, in France, from June 8 to 14, and participated in the celebrations held in that French town in honour of the great Portuguese poet Luíz de Camões.
In the afternoon of June 9, I was interviewed by Helène Clairfond for Radio Oloron. The subject of the radio broadcast obviously covered the life and work of Luís de Camões, and during the interview I read a few poems (in French translation) of this great Portuguese poet.
The following day, June 10, as well in the afternoon, I went to the Centre Culturel Leclerc for a “story time” activity with children. Considering that my visit to Oloron was part of the Festival Camões, I read besides excerpts from my most recent children’s books also a few poems written by school children in France inspired by my story books.
The exhibition on the life and work of Camões was officially inaugurated on June 11 during a conference, followed by a cocktail, offered by the Town Hall of Oloron Sainte-Marie. I addressed the conference. As you know, in addition to my literary activity for children I’m also a passionate amateur historian, particularly in what concerns Portuguese History and Culture. I was very pleased to see (thru feedback I received) that the intensity and emotion of my speech about Camões charmed the audience all the time and cast a deeper interest about not only the lyrical poesy of this world-genius of literature but also his epic poem “The Lusiads”.
