Mathias Énard and Edurne Portela

Europe is not just a political project but also a continent constructed with stories, tales, and testimonies. It is a map of memory and culture that has interwoven the frequently complex bonds among the various peoples of the continent. In his books, one of France’s best-known writers, Mathias Énard, upholds and calls for the cultural hybridisation that is the wellspring of European culture. Essayist and fiction writer Edurne Portela writes about violence, memory, and uprooting. In this session, they speak with cultural journalist Sílvia Marimon Molas about the role of literature in the imagination of Europe today.