Come and celebrate a Day of Books & Roses (La Diada de Sant Jordi) Barcelona style at Book Beat on Sunday, April 23 from 12-5 pm. Special guest author Juan M. Garcés will present his novel Love in Four Dots between 2-3 pm. Buy a book, receive a rose! There will be live readings in Spanish, Catalan wine, and we will have a selection of Spanish poetry, literature, live flamenco music, and more. ¡SPRING FIESTA! La Diada de Saint Jordi is co-hosted by our friends at Elie Wines and VIN°VI & Co.. who are hosting 10 days of local diners, wine-tastings, and events around Catalan Wine Week. Book Beat is located at 26010 Greenfield, Oak Park, MI 48237. Call (248) 968-1190 for more information.
Love in Four Dots is a novel based on a secret code Juan M. Garcés discovered in a rare volume of Don Quixote from 1844. Love in Four Dots is an historical novel and love story set around the time of the One Thousand Days War, with comments and quotes from Don Quixote intertwined with the author’s personal journey, which adds another layer of mystery and surprise to the novel. Read an interview with Juan M. Garcés in our April newsletter: Immortal Love found Inside of Don Quixote.
April 23 is a symbolic day in world literature. Declared International Day of the Book by UNESCO in 1995, World Book Day draws its inspiration from a Catalan tradition, the Festival of the Rose. In 1923, this lover’s “festa” became even more poetic when it merged with “el dia del libre,” or The Day of the Book. The Day of the Book marks the deaths of Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare, two giants of literary history, who died April 22 and April 23, 1616 respectively (it is also traditionally held that Shakespeare’s birthday was April 23).
La Rambla on La Diada de Sant Jordi. © Manel Llado
On this day in Barcelona, bookstalls and street festivities run the length of the picturesque La Rambla, the old city’s main boulevard, and according to the Spanish author Federico García Lorca, “the only street in the world which I wish would never end.” Read more about this tradition at Dragon’s Blood and Books-A Spring Festival.
Catalan native Núria Garrote-i-Esteve first brought our attention to the St. Jordi Day tradition in 2004. It was an enthusiastic success with Catalan poetry read, delicious wines sampled, and roses and books joyously given away. We are happy to connect once again with this marvelous tradition.