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FRIDAY 29 MAY, 9:30PM
Apanhar um Peixe com as mãos
Writing a book is casting memory into the future. How do we look at life and rewrite it into stories, poems, and fictions that nourish the imagination of millions of readers? Memory is as hard to grasp as a fish with bare hands—but how do we hold onto it, shape it, and fictionalize it from multiple points of view? Words, in the form of literature, take on a central role in creating worlds that, as Oscar Wilde once suggested, often place life in perspective: does art imitate life, or does life imitate art?
On the last Friday of each month*, at the Casa da Memória de Guimarães, we will be in conversation with a guest about memory, literature, and many other things. This informal gathering will be punctuated by open readings. Bring poems, excerpts, micro-stories, or words you would like to read, and join us for a glass of wine and (more than) literary exchanges.
Carolina Amaral was born in Guimarães and, from an early age, showed an interest in the arts. She holds a degree in Theatre from ESMAE in Porto, and also studied at ESTC in Lisbon, later continuing her training at the Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique in Paris. She currently lives in Lisbon, although it is Guimarães that she considers to be the city of her heart.
In addition to her work as an actress, she has a particular fondness for poetry, having published in this genre the book “Escândalo Escuro”, by Urutau, and, in the field of theatre, the book “Teatro do Mal: Manifesto e Desorientações”. It was in 2017 that she developed her first artistic project as an author, “Stella Matutina”.
Interestingly, Adília Lopes, who lends her name to the program “Apanhar um peixe com as mãos”, has a curious poem titled “Estrelas”: at mass, an elderly woman singing the litany to Our Lady, instead of singing “stella matutina”, would sing “estrela na cortina” (“star in the curtain”). I find this beautiful.
Free admission, subject to venue capacity
* The program does not take place in August and December. In 2026, exceptionally, it did not take place in January.
NOTE: …to catch a fish / with the hands are verses from a poem by Adília Lopes
This activity will be translated into Portuguese Sign Language (LGP)
Vídeos
This performance will include audio description.
An additional commentary intended for visually impaired audiences (blind and partially sighted people), referring to body language, facial expressions and movement. It consists of a narrator speaking during the performance, in the natural pauses of the audio, describing what is happening on stage (and what cannot be perceived through hearing alone).