In Photos: ‘Writers of the World’ Exhibition in the Metro Stations of Algiers

The International Festival of Literature and Young People’s Literature (FELIV) opened in Algiers on June 11 and is set to close tomorrow.

By Nadia Ghanem

Publishers, authors and the public are meeting to browse, discuss and debate literature produced around the world, its place, and its future.  Many authors were invited and many are to be found chatting around the esplanade of Riadh El Feth, signing copies for readers, and posing with them for photos. Books presented by publishing houses are in French and Arabic. Debates are held in French.

As part of the Festival, photographer Francesco Gattoni put together an exhibition of his photographs of “Authors Around the World.” Fifty writers’ portraits are to be found in three stations of Algiers’ metro: Tafourah, Les Jardins d’Essai, and Les Fusilés. Next to each portrait, a presentation of the author and a text in French and Arabic speaks of the author, presents excerpts of an author’s work or lets the author speak.

For those who can’t make it, here are the portraits exhibited in Tafourah and Les Jardins d’Essais. They should give you great ideas for your next reads over the next few months.

Metro Station : Tafourah

Wendy Guerra – Cuba

 

Bernard Wallet – France

 

Yahia Belaskri – Algeria

 

 

Valerio Evangelisti – Italy

 

Annie Ernaud – France

 

W.G. Sebald –  Germany

 

 

Julien Delmaire – France

 

 

Naguib Mahfouz – Egypt

Dany Laferrière – Haiti/Canada

 

 

Fernando Arrabal – Spain

 

Rawi Hage – Canada

 

 

Maurice Nadeau – France

 

 

Sordj Chalandon – France

 

 

James Noel – Haiti

 

Metro Station : Les Jardin d’Essais 

Anouar Benmalek – Algeria

 

 

 

Ivan Thays – Peru

Gary Victor –  Haiti

Sergio Ferrero – Italy

 

Edouard Glissant – Martinique

 

 

Eduardo Berti – Argentina

 

 

Erri de Luca –  Italy

 

Karla Suarez – Cuba

 

Luis Sepulveda – Chile

 

 

Pietro Citati – Italy

 

 

Reina Maria Rodriguez – Havana

 

 

Alfredo Pita – Peru

 

 

Günter Grass –  Germany

 

Ismail Kadare – Albania

 

Leonora Miano – Cameroon

 

 

Arnaldur Indridason  – Iceland

 

 

Manuel Rivas – Spain

 

 

Susan Sontag –  America

 

 

Enrique Vila Matas – Spain