Festival of Queer Literature in Spanish in London returns for its fourth year
"We need more than A Room of One's Own" said Festival Director Jorge Gárriz, addressing an assembly of LGBTQ writers, poets and literature lovers at last night's launch at the Spanish Embassy in London
The Festival of Queer Literature in Spanish in London launched its fourth instalment yesterday (Wednesday 20 November 2024) with a special event at the Spanish Embassy in London.
Attendees were welcomed by an opening address from Ambassador of Spain to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, José Pascual Marco Martínez, followed by an interview between Festival Director Jorge Gárriz and Napalm in the Heart author Pol Guasch.
Presented by Romancero Books, the festival runs until 25 November 2024, with a series of specially curated live events taking place across the English capital over the next week.
“We need more than A Room of One’s Own” – Jorge Gárriz
“We need more than A Room of One’s Own – we want to go beyond that,” Gárriz told attendees in a speech on stage, referencing Virginia Woolf’s famous book.
“Because our voices, ourselves gritando amor, gritando te quiero, deserves a bigger presence in the literary scene and in society as we are part of it,” he added.
Literary presentations to come in venues around London include Sara Torres, Ángelo Néstore, and Fernando López Rodríguez, among others.
Meanwhile, iconic figures Pedro Lemebel, Pepe Espaliù, David Vilaseca, and Jaime Gil de Biedma will be celebrated in a series of special talks and retrospectives.
The Festival of Queer Literature in Spanish in London, as described by organisers
“It’s unique space for readers, writers, critics, and anyone interested in LGBTQIA+ culture to connect and reflect. The festival’s objectives include promoting Hispanic LGBTQIA+ studies in the UK, disseminating work by emerging queer writers from Spain and Latin America in the Anglosphere, and spotlighting and revitalising queer writers from the recent past to recognise literary forebears and foster intergenerational dialogue among writers and audiences. The festival’s programme aims to amplify the voices of new queer poets writing in Spanish, create synergies with UK audiences around the latest queer literature written in Spanish and Catalan (and its English translations), and build relationships with English-language publishers to encourage the future translation of Spanish and Catalan queer texts into English. The festival is rooted in a commitment to respect sexual, ideological, and gender diversity.”
The Festival of Queer Literature in Spanish in London 2024 schedule
Thursday 20 November
7:00 PM – Instituto Cervantes, London
Conference at Instituto Cervantes, London – Organised in partnership with SRUK/CERU, highlighting queer research by Spanish scholars in British universities.
Speakers: Anna Moya (LSE), Álvaro González Montero (Leeds), Lucía Gloria Vázquez Rodríguez (UCL), Javier Fernández Galeano (UV/Wesleyan).
Friday 22 November
7:00 PM – Hundred Years Gallery
5th Queer Poetry Recital featuring poets Ángelo Néstore.
Saturday 23 November
3:45 PM – The Rio Cinema
Screening of “Marisol, Llámame Pepa”
Discussion with director Blanca Torres and Marta Calderón from Spectra.
7:00 PM – The Divine
Presentation of the book “A Queer History of Flamenco” by Fernando López Rodríguez.
Screening of “Queerolé!” by filmmaker Patricia Langa.
Performance by Fernando López Rodríguez
Sunday 24 November
4:00 PM – BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! Gallery
Conference by Jesús Alcaide: Pepe Espaliú – The Impossible Truth. Texts 1987-1993.
6:30 PM – Boys! Boys! Boys!
Talk with Sara Torres on her novel La Seducción, joined by actor and performer Norah Lopez Holden.
Monday 25 November
7:20 PM – Gay’s The Word
Conversation on Pedro Lemebel’s work: A Last Supper of Queer Apostles: Selected Essays
Featuring editor Rory Williamson of Pushkin Press and writer Lauren J. Joseph.