Literature
Opening Session: 'Science in Poetry and Poetry in Science' Carlos Fiolhais talks with Luísa Paolinelli
18th of May | 11:00 am | John dos Passos Cultural Center
The relationship between science and poetry is richer than is commonly thought. If, on the one hand, there are strong marks of the presence of science in numerous poems, on the other hand, there are creative impulses in scientific research that are very similar to those of poetry.
“Science is an indispensable means for understanding the world. But poetry allows you to say things that the language of science cannot say”. Professor Doctor Carlos Fiolhais explores the theme, giving an account, in particular, of the relationship between science and poetry in the work of Professor of Physics and Chemistry Rómulo de Carvalho, who was also a poet under the name of António Gedeão.”
Carlos Fiolhais was born in Lisbon in 1956, holds a PhD in Physics from the University of Frankfurt and is a professor at the University of Coimbra. He is the author of 140 scientific articles and the books “Fun Physics”, “New Fun Physics” and “Darwin Shot and Other Science Stories”, all published by Gradiva. He is also the author of more than 60 pedagogical and scientific dissemination books and numerous scientific, pedagogical and dissemination articles.
Professor Fiolhais directed the General Library of the University of Coimbra and today directs the Rómulo – Centro Ciência Viva of the University of Coimbra. He also directs the Knowledge area of the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation. He received several awards and distinctions, including the Rómulo de Carvalho award, the SIC Golden Globe and the Order of Infante D. Henrique.
Luísa Paolinelli holds a PhD in Literature in the area of Comparative Literature and is a professor at the University of Madeira. She is a member of CLEPUL, Center for Lusophone and European Literatures and Cultures of the University of Lisbon, and coordinator of the CLEPUL/University of Madeira Hub.
Launch of the book «José Varella e a crónica satírica dos 'desmandos do poder'» by Ângela Varela and published by Imprensa Académica
20th of May | 4:30 pm | John dos Passos Cultural Center
Captain-Doctor José Varella (1874-1937) was an illustrious figure in Ponta do Sol during the First Republic. As early as 1911, he was the mentor of the Madeira Democratic Center Program and, later, Senator, elected by the Liberal Republican Party (1921), and Civil Governor of Funchal (1924-25). But he stood out above all for the satirical and literary force of his political chronicle, as editor of the newspapers of the aforementioned Republican Center and those of Ponta do Sol, a village where cultural activity was quite intense. Here, he collaborated in the periodicals A Época (1912-1913) and A União (1918-1919), which his older brother, Dr. António do Monte Varela, Municipal Doctor of the Parish.
As a moderate, José Varela opposed the "dismants of power" by targeting the hegemonic Democratic Party of Doctor Afonso Costa. This was represented in the Region by Dr. Manuel Pestana Júnior, Francisco Correia de Herédia and Dr. Vasco Gonçalves Marques, who in 1913 emancipated themselves from the Republican Center to follow the derivations of the Alfonsist line. Thus, unlike his former comrades, the voice of Captain-Doctor José Varella , moved by passionate but free from critical reflection, did not pass on to posterity.
This book, which brings to light the compilation of José Varella's chronicles, with an extensive introduction, glossary and spelling update, was organized by Ângela Varela, the author's great-niece. She holds a PhD in Portuguese Literature from the University of Lisbon, with the thesis Configurations of the Prose Poem, edited in 2011 by the INCM. It has scattered publications of essays, chronicles and poetry, in university proceedings, collective books, magazines and newspapers from Mainland Portugal and Funchal.
