FYI France: "The Library Speaks" -- Festival of the BnF, 2019 -- Paris, May 25 & 26

If you already are there or can be in Paris, end-May: an extraordinary weekend at the BnF François-Mitterrand, May 25-26 --

FESTIVAL DE LA BNF 2019
La Bibliothèque parlante
25 Mai. 2019 26 Mai. 2019

"Festival of the BnF, 2019
"The Library Speaks"

"For the third consecutive year, The Library Speaks at the BnF site François-Mitterrand... On the occasion of its annual festival, the 25th and 26th May 2019, the BnF opens-wide its doors, for a weekend of lectures, performances and exhibits. The weekend will be kicked-off on Friday May 24 by a literary evening devoted to Notre-Dame de Paris.

"Let the Library Speak"

"Often associated with a closed and silent atmosphere, the Library is however inhabited by the voices of the works which it protects. To "let the library Speak" is to allow, during a weekend, the immemorial murmur which haunts these premises to rise to a clamor. Over two days, The Speaking Library offers a promenade through the collections of the BnF and through its spaces, for listening to words, some anchored in the present and others coming to us from the past but always they are living and vibrant.

"Actors -- Sandrine Bonnaire, Julie Depardieu, Denis Lavant, Denis Podalydès -- or authors -- Adonis, Anna Gavalda, Marie-Hélène Lafon -- represent the voices of the writers. As an echo, in the exhibit 'Manuscripts' at one extreme, the texts offered in readings tell stories of the extremes -- prison, passion, peril, possession... Words for understanding existence in its craziest manifestations, like the craziness which can be love: this is the promise of the Festival of the BnF -- considered also as a wandering through the extraordinary spaces of the site François-Mitterrand. A walk encountering reading and creation.

* "Inaugural evening, Friday May 24: 'Notre-Dame de Paris, Monument Littéraire'"

"Like all those who work to safeguard the patrimony, the BnF was touched to the heart by the partial destruction of the cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris. The Library wishes to remember how much that which is embodied in Notre-Dame de Paris remains present and alive. This evening of homage, organized with France Culture, has been designed to celebrate the traces and many expressions of the imagination inspired by the cathedral over the centuries.

"The program 'La Dispute', broadcast by France Culture, will be recorded live in the grand auditorium of the site François-Mitterrand, from 7 to 8pm.

"Reading of extracts from 'Notre-Dame de Paris', by Charles Berling -- Published by Victor Hugo in 1831, 'Notre-Dame de Paris' quickly became one of the greatest works of romantic-era French literature. Its popularity never has ceased to grow, in France and around the world, elevating its principal characters to mythic proportions."

INFORMATIONS PRATIQUES

Vendredi 24 mai, 20 h 30 - 21 h 30
Grand auditorium, site François-Mitterrand
Tarif unique 10 € par personne
Réservations disponibles prochainement
Entrée libre sur réservation pour les détenteurs des Pass BnF :
réservation au 01 53 79 49 49 ou visites@bnf.fr
En savoir plus sur le Pass Lecture / Culture à 15€