The Círculo dos Amigos da Cultura de Macau (CAC – “Circle of the Friends of Macau’s Culture”) will host a seminar titled “Fonte do Lilau: A Dive into Poetry in Portuguese and in Dóci Papiaçam of Macau” according to a statement from the cultural association yesterday.
The free-admission, Portuguese-language event, supported by the Macau Foundation (FM), will feature Jorge Manuel de Abreu Arrimar as the keynote speaker. The statement said the seminar is scheduled for next Tuesday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Albergue SCM*.
The seminar will discuss the definition of “Macau literature”, the statement noted. It will examine the duality between “Macanese literature”, which is written by local authors in Portuguese or local creole, Patuá**, and “literature of Macau”, produced by both resident and transitory writers.
Customarily, the term “Macanese” refers to Macau’s community of mixed Portuguese and Asian descent, as well as their diaspora, accounting for less than 2.0 percent of the local population.
The statement emphasised that the event will highlight the “hybrid and multicultural nature of the city’s literary production, which reflects the historic encounter between East and West.”
The statement outlined that Arrimar, a former director of the National/Central Library of Macau and the author of several poetry books inspired by the city, including “Fonte do Lilau” (“Lilau Fountain”) and “Secretos sinais” (“Secret Signs”). He was awarded the Medal of Cultural Merit in 1997 and now lives in Portugal, where he continues to publish works related to Macau.
The statement confirmed that registration for the seminar is mandatory due to limited space. One must register online in advance on a first-come, first-served basis via: https://forms.gle/nvSkXeSMenPkSphz6. For further information, one can contact the CAC directly.
*SCM stands for Santa Casa da Misericórdia (Holy House of Mercy), Macau’s oldest charitable organisation.
**Patuá is Macau’s critically endangered Portuguese-Asian Creole, nowadays spoken by just a few dozen people in Macau and a number of hundreds overseas, in California in particular. Patuá is also known as “Dóci Papiaçam di Macau” (“Macau’s Sweet Language”). – MPD
This poster provided by the “Círculo dos Amigos da Cultura de Macau” (CAC) association yesterday promotes the “Fonte do Lilau: A Dive into Poetry in Portuguese and in Dóci Papiaçam of Macau” seminar set to take place next Tuesday at Albergue SCM.
