Gonçalo M. Tavares and Lídia Jorge in conversation on reading, empathy and social inequality

Lídia Jorge says she would be "more explicit" if she were to deliver her 10 June speech again

Lídia Jorge, recently awarded the Austrian State Prize for European Literature, joined Gonçalo M. Tavares for a conversation on reading, community and social inequality.

Although moderator Francisco Sena Santos dispensed with formal introductions for the two writers, Lídia Jorge took the opportunity to praise her fellow panellist.

Gonçalo M. Tavares opened the discussion with a reflection on the pandemic and the place of empathy in today's world, drawing on his latest book, The End of the United States of America. From there, the two writers embarked on a wide-ranging conversation about the meaning of community and the fragility of the human condition.

The discussion led to what became the defining moment of the session. Prompted by the moderator, Lídia Jorge addressed the controversy surrounding the speech she delivered on 10 June, Portugal's National Day. In that address, she condemned extremism and racism, declaring that "no one has pure blood". The remarks drew criticism, most notably from Chega leader André Ventura.

Speaking at BABELL, Jorge said that her 10 June speech had been entirely uncontroversial and that "20 years earlier, that text would not have bothered anyone." If she were to deliver it again, she added, "I would underline those points even more; I would be more explicit."

She then challenged the audience:

"My question is this: what has happened to the Portuguese? We are a people with a diaspora across the world, a people who have endured hardship everywhere, who have been welcomed everywhere, who know what it means to face adversity, who have sought refuge and hospitality across the globe. What has happened to us that we have forgotten that part of our DNA?"

She went on to argue that "there is a kind of global mystification (...) which makes us believe that a system which is failing completely from an economic point of view, making some people poorer and others ever richer, is the path we should continue to pursue."

In doing so, she echoed an earlier point made by Gonçalo M. Tavares: that "a rich country is one without poor people." Although, as he observed, "people say empathy is toxic for the economy," both agreed that it is, in fact, indispensable.

The conversation also explored the importance of reading and imagination. "A book is a bed for the spirit," said Lídia Jorge. Gonçalo M. Tavares criticised the impact of social media on people's creative capacities before adding that, for him, "writing is an extraordinary physical pleasure" and that "to write is to live."