Taking Teolinda Gersão’s novel, A cidade de Ulisses (The City of Ulysses), as a starting point, I propose a stroll through the Portuguese literary scene, centred on the city of Lisbon, sustained by historical and cultural memory, light and atmosphere. From Cesário Verde to Álvaro de Campos, passing through the chroniclers of the 16th century, and through exogenous, remote points of view, such as that of the Arab geographer Edrisi, or contemporary ones, such as the writer Derek Walcott and the filmmakers Alain Tanner and Wim Wenders, I highlight aesthetic moments that illuminate the uniqueness of this, as Augusto Abelaira once called it, pleasant cove, where, to paraphrase Walt Whitman, I was born, of parents also born here, of parents born here, and where my children were also born.
On 12 March, Professor Mário Avelar gave a literary, critical and cultural talk in which he explored the intersections between literature and cinema, urban spaces and everyday experiences. Through an approach marked by encounters and misunderstandings, the speaker offered the audience his critical lens, exploring different perspectives in the analysis of texts by multiple national and foreign writers, as well as cinematographic works by various filmmakers.
This intellectual wander through various locations and areas of the city allowed for a sensitive and multifaceted reading of urban space, highlighting how literature and cinema contribute to the construction of imaginaries, memories and meanings associated with urban life.
