For the new literary season, CWB|Paris welcomes Gracia Bejjani and Georgia Makhlouf for a discussion about their new books.
An event presented as part of the second edition of the Biennale Archipel#Chaos-Monde. As part of the Lisez-vous le Belge ? series, come and discover two recent publications during a discussion. ON THE PROGRAM: - Gracia Bejjani, Sobhiyé - Corps de femmes (Editions ACCRO) Beirut, the 1970s. In the Christian neighborhood of Achrafieh, the narrator and her friends, Hanane and Nayla, grow up between Eastern traditions and an openness to the West. As they raise their voices, they recall the formative trials of childhood and the subtleties of women’s lives at the heart of a male-dominated society. Through the intimacy of the home, everyday gestures, and rituals, the author reveals these women’s power to resist—first in their daily lives and later in the face of war. - Georgia Makhlouf, Pays amer (Presses de la Cité). Pays amer, a work of fiction loosely inspired by the life of Marie El Khazen (1899–1983), the first Lebanese woman photographer, delicately interweaves the stories of two Lebanese women photographers living a century apart. Mona spends her youth on the margins of society in Beirut. In a village in northern Lebanon, she discovers a magnificent abandoned house. Its former owner, a certain Marie Karam, was an eccentric loner who hunted like a man and surrounded herself with living and stuffed animals. Through Marie and Mona, whose artistic work and love lives face the same burden of tradition and social prejudice, Georgia Makhlouf weaves together the threads of poignant destinies driven by a longing for freedom. Marie will pay the price. For Mona, the story remains to be written. The discussion will include a book-signing session at Librairie Wallonie-Bruxelles.
Source: paris.fr — photo: DR