Defender of reading: Alberto Manguel received the international prize “Prémio Nonino”.
After the wars in Gaza or Ukraine, is there just mute sadness? Canadian writer Alberto Manguel, who hails from Argentina, gave a remarkable perspective on this over the weekend by recalling Euripides' dramas about the military destruction of Troy: they describe how those who were defeated by Greek warriors felt what it was like to cry when men, fathers and sons are killed, when all that remains after the massacre is shame. A literary work like that of Euripides could transform a “fire” into a dialogue, said Alberto Manguel. Telling a story opens up reflection on it – for example, in Euripides' “Women of Troy”, the Greeks' reflection on their own victory. And here, as in every story told, the final purpose is: “Don't forget!”
Alberto Manguel highlighted this humanizing power of storytelling and reading in his acceptance speech for the international “Nonino Prize”, which was awarded to him on Saturday in Percoto, near Udine. Italian grappa manufacturer Noninio has awarded cultural awards almost every year since 1975 – both for rural culture and for literature and social achievements. We are proud to remember that five of those honored have since become Nobel Prize winners.
Alberto Manguel, who caused a sensation with books such as “The History of Reading”, “A Biblioteca à Noite”, “A Biblioteca Escondida” and “Uma Cidade de Palavras”, was honored as a tireless defender of libraries and as a promoter of the joy of reading .
The Nonino Prize was also awarded in other categories, such as “rural culture” to the farmers’ cooperative “Fruits of Peace” in Bosnia-Herzegovina. American science historian Naomi Oreskes was honored as “master of our time”. The Harvard professor revealed how targeted disinformation is destroying the consensus that the goal of science is to improve living conditions. She cited tobacco advertising, climate change and Covid vaccinations as examples of areas where lobbyists or certain industries have deliberately undermined the credibility of science and thereby put human lives in danger.