The Barcelona Debate
Europe in My Mind
Lecture by Mircea Cărtărescu
Debate
Free
We inaugurate the Barcelona Debate, "Old Europe, New Utopias", with a lecture by one of Romania's most celebrated writers, Mircea Cărtărescu. In his poetry, novels and essays, he portrays the diversity of contemporary European life, going beyond the idea of the continent as a project or territory with borders and limits. For Cărtărescu, Europe's meaning lies in the work of Kafka, Proust, Grass or Cervantes.
The European project is not Europe. It goes beyond that, in both space and time. Many authors have sought to define its limits, to distinguish between the European continent and the Orient, the New World or the Global South. These categories are even applied within Europe, to identify Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean South or the New Member States. According to Mircea Cărtărescu, however, these aspects do not capture what Europe means for the world or the diverse Europes that reside in dreams and memories, reality and fantasy. For Cărtărescu, its meaning lies in the works of Kafka, Proust, Grass or Cervantes. Ultimately, Europe has the shape of his brain. Its contours define his thought, and his thought knows no borders.
Presenters: Vicenç Villatoro
Participants: Mircea Cărtărescu
This activity is part of Old Europe, New Utopias, The Barcelona Debate
Related contents
Mircea Cărtărescu
Europe in My Mind
The work of the Romanian writer Mircea Cărtărescu portrays the diversity of contemporary European life, going beyond the idea of the continent as a project or territory with borders and limits. For Cărtărescu, Europe's meaning lies in the work of Kafka, Proust, Grass or Cervantes.
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