Staged reading of Cuaderno de Nueva York at European Literature Night 2018

Don’t miss the staged reading of Spanish poet José Hierro’s “New York Notebook” at this year’s edition of European Literature Night.

The European Literature Night –a celebration of 15 European novels through readings, musical world premieres, visual art, architecture and film– brings to New York a series of staged readings of books by European authors. In this year’s edition, Spain participates presenting the staged reading of New York Notebook by poet José Hierro. Hierro establishes a dialogue with the city and, through that dialogue, confronts an intense and emotional meditation about the enigmas that have since the beginning of time worried men: life, love, the passing of time, death, art (music, poetry, the transgressive quality of words). The poet doesn’t hold a dialogue with the city of anonymous multitudes, or the chaotic megalopolis, cold and inhumane. Instead, his reflection is born out of discovering the singular spaces of the city, flowing with his moods, and being in touch with his interior needs stemming from his own cultural and sentimental history.

About José Hierro

José Hierro ( April 3, 1922, Madrid, Spain—Dec. 20, 2002, Madrid) was one of Spain’s most recognized and beloved contemporary literary figures. Although Hierro was not a prolific poet, his intense, concise verse drew critical and commercial attention. After being held prisoner by Franco’s government for five years (1939–44), Hierro turned to writing, publishing his first collection of poetry, Tierra sin nosotros, in 1947. A host of awards followed—notably the National Literature Prize in 1990 and the Cervantes Prize, Spain’s highest literary honour, for his 1998 work Cuaderno de Nueva York— yet he remained self-effacing about his own talent. In 1999 he was elected to the Spanish Royal Academy.