Espido Freire presents her book on disappeared places and comments on the Letras en Sevilla controversy
The writer Espido Freire launches her new work onto the market, Guide to Places That No Longer Exist, a work published by RBA that moves between essay and autofiction. In it, the author investigates how physical sites that have vanished or transformed end up defining both individual memory and that of an entire society. 🏚️
A literary event is suspended after a public debate
Parallel to the presentation of her book, Freire has addressed the controversy that has led to the postponement of the Letras en Sevilla sessions. This event, coordinated by Arturo Pérez-Reverte and Jesús Vigorra, was scheduled to take place under the title 1936: The war we all lost, but several authors, including David Uclés, decided not to attend. This circumstance has sparked an intense debate on how the most delicate historical topics should be addressed in today's cultural sphere.
Key points of the postponement:- The Letras en Sevilla sessions are rescheduled for October.
- The withdrawal of participants like David Uclés was the main trigger.
- The planned historical content for the event generated a division of opinions.
It seems that, at times, organizing a literary gathering may require more diplomacy than writing a guide about what has been lost forever.
The connection between physical loss and past conflicts
Referring to this conflict, Espido Freire pointed out that these situations show the complexity of addressing certain historical episodes in contemporary culture. The author reflected on the paradox that sometimes it is less complicated to evoke spaces that no longer exist than to confront traumatic pasts that still cause fractures. This idea links directly to the core of her new book, which revolves around absence and the mechanisms of memory.
Central elements of Freire's book:- Explores the link between geography and personal and collective memory.
- Uses the autofiction format to mix experience and analysis.
- Proposes that disappeared places act as emotional archives.
Two sides of the same cultural coin
The news about the book and the comments on the controversy in Seville draw a cultural landscape where intimate exploration of the past coexists with public debates on how to narrate it. While Freire invites us to traverse ghost spaces through writing, the literary sector faces the practical and ethical limits of commemorating complex historical episodes. The contrast between both situations underscores the permanent tension between remembering what has been lost and dialoguing about what still hurts. 📖