The Reading Club Extension Project – Book Banquet, at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), returned from the strike with a new calendar of events. The activities can be followed on Instagram [@clubedeleituraufrn]. On August 1st, at 4:30 pm, at the Cooperativa Cultural, the club will discuss “Solitária”, by Eliana Alves Cruz, a contemporary novel that addresses the slavery heritage and power relations in domestic work in current Brazil. On September 26th, it will be the turn of “Dádiva”, by Diva Cunha, poet from Rio Grande do Norte and retired professor at UFRN, whose work deals with existential issues and the experience of women in the world. On October 24th, the club will discuss the classic “Mrs. Dalloway”, by Virginia Woolf.
In addition to the three meetings mentioned, the project will promote the Jornada de Estudos Cabralinos, a seminar dedicated to the work of João Cabral de Melo Neto, on the 18th and 19th of November. The Journey will address different perspectives of study on the work of the poet from Pernambuco, grouped into four thematic axes: João Cabral and Brazilian modernism; João Cabral in dialogue with other voices and cultural traditions; Reception, circulation and translation of João Cabral’s work; and The dialogue between Cabralina's work and other arts. The first circular with information about registration and program details, which can be followed on Instagram @estudoscabralinos.
Furthermore, the project seeks to expand the debate on literature to other spaces, which resulted in the creation of the Banquete website, a page for sharing texts on literature, art and culture in general: https://banquetedelivrosufrn.lovestoblog.com/. The site will publish reviews, essays and literary texts, open to submission by anyone. It already has a selection of poems by professor Carlos Braga, from the French Literature course, a critical text on the book “Marrons Crepons Marfins”, by the poet Marize Castro from Rio Grande do Norte, and another selection of poems by Arthur de Lima, a student on the Portuguese Literature course.
The Book Banquet was created in 2019 by professor Rosanne Bezerra de Araújo, from the Department of Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures. Currently, the professor is abroad for a post-doctorate, following the project remotely. The activities continue under the coordination of server Lucas José de Mello Lopes, from the Institute of Public Policies, with professor Carlos Eduardo Galvão Braga, from the Department of Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures. The execution team includes undergraduate students Laura dos Santos Paiva (English Literature), Leilane Oliveira do Nascimento (Portuguese Literature) and Vinicius de Morais Medeiros Praxedes (English Literature), as well as Julio Cesar de Araujo Cadó, from the Postgraduate Program in Language Studies.