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29th Paris Book Fare Celebrates Mexico
With over 11 thousand titles on display, Mexican literature will be celebrated at this year's 29th Book Fare in Paris. The fare will take place in a specially-designed pavillion - the creation of the architect Bernardo Gomez Pimienta - on a ship in the Port of Versailles occupying more than a thousand square meters. The Paris Book Fare is the most important event of it's kind in France and is expected to attract more than 200,000 visitors and have 18,000 professionals on hand.
The pavillion will be divided into three zones. The first will be run by the Gibert Joseph Library offering seven thousand titles of Mexican literature and books about Mexico published in French and Spanish. The second zone will feature 73 Mexican editorials displaying 3,183 titles including the Fondo de Cultura Economica (FCE) who are celebrating their 75th birthday this year and will have more than a thousand titles from their own back catologues. The final zone will allow industry experts to network amongst each other and will include an auditorium with a capacity of up to 80 people as well smaller conference rooms for round table discussions and meetings. The auditorium will also feature 40 black and white photographs of writers who make up the official Mexican delegation.
Gomez Pimienta, who was bestowed the National Order of the Legion of Honor - France's highest award for services to the country - has created a spectacular forum to celebrate the cream of Mexican literature. A mosaic floor connects all three zones while banners of different shapes and sizes hang from the ceiling with the word Mexico emblazoned on each one so as to give "height, proportion and scale to the pavillion" explained the architect.
The furniture in the pavillion was also designed by Gomez Pimienta and was fabricated out of MDF which is a building material that is cheaper than normal ply wood but gives the same refined look and is earth-friendly.
"The idea is that the furniture and tables have a neutral tone about their look and feel so they don't draw attention away from the books," Gomez Pimienta said.
The architect has also been responsible for the design of the Jeunesse Pavillion which is dedicated to children's literature as well as the Mexican-influenced logo for the book fare which can be seen all across Paris due to a huge government marketing campaign for the event.
Los Otros Libros
One of the more exciting book collections to be exhibited at the Paris Book Fare is Los Otros Libros, which according to the organizers strives to support the "ideas, narratives, poetic and textual vision" of its authors.
Chosen by the artist Martha Hellion and the editor Philippe Ollé-Laprune, 82 books have been selected on the merits of their rich and diverse literary backgrounds and by arresting authors such as Vicente Rojo, Ulises Carrion, Patricia Lagarde, Francisco Castro Leñero, Berenice Torres, Carla Rippey, Magali Lara, Javier Hinojosa, Carlos Amorales y Damian Ortega among others.
"They are works that enrichen the book fair because of the their vitality," says Hellion. "We chose writers with an established body of work and who are recognized for their excellence."
In particular, Ulises Carrion's work "Poesias y Argumentos: Poetas y artistas visuales" is cited by Hellion for its propensity to go beyond the boundaries of traditional fiction.
"The book reflects its author in so many ways. Carrion has breathed life, memory and thought into the language and his work occupies a unique space as an independent piece of art that has its own identity and transcends borders and responds to historic changes in sociocultural times," explained Hellion at a press conference.
The 29th Paris Book Fare runs from March 17-22, 2009
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