The Cairo Mediterranean Literary Festival: May 5-12

I don’t know quite what to expect from this lit festival—this being its “first edition”—but it seems relatively well organized, if not well publicized. I do appreciate organizer Baad el Bahr’s (Over the Sea) use of homologues:

The Cairo Mediterranean Literary Festival reflects an important occasion for considering the contemporary literary production and its spreading in the Mediterranean basin. This experience is supported by the physical presence of Mediterranean authors and artists meeting their Egyptian homologues in Cairo.

As you might expect from that introduction, the theme of this year’s festival is humor.

The festival boasts readings, “non-stop” film screenings, lectures and panel discussions on comedy, a theater workshop for children, daily live performances, and more.

Guests include Ibrahim Aslan, Ghada Abdel Aal (author of the blog-turned-book I Want to Get Married) and a lot of people I don’t know. (Yes, I’m provincial, and there are probably some very famous Italians, Spaniards, and French on the list.)

The program can be found online here; events will take place at the Italian, French, and Spanish cultural centers, Gomhouria Theater, and elsewhere.  The festival opens this Wednesday, May 5 and runs through the 12th.

In case you’re still apathetic: There’s free admission to all events.