The French National Library (BnF) has awarded its annual prize to Argentine writer Alberto Manguel, alongside a special jury prize for US singer and artist Patti Smith, the institution announced on Tuesday.
“This double distinction pays tribute to two singular bodies of work, as a means of promoting openness and intercultural dialogue in relation to our documentary heritage,” the BnF said in a statement.
The 78-year-old Argentine writer, translator and essayist is a renowned bibliophile. Some of his best-known works, including A History of Reading (1996) and The Library at Night (2006), explore books and the act of reading.
Manguel, who also holds Canadian citizenship, was a teenage reader for an almost blind Jorge Luis Borges. He later served as director of Argentina’s National Library from 2016 to 2018.
The author “maintains a constant dialogue with books, libraries and French culture”, the BnF said, highlighting his “work devoted to the experience of reading and the place of books in our societies."
The 10,000-euro (US$11,300) prize traditionally honours the lifetime work of a living French-language author. This year, however, the institution decided to award it to a foreign writer, provided that part of their work has been translated into French and that their career reflects close ties with France and its culture.
Established in 2009, the prize has previously been awarded to literary heavyweights including Patrick Modiano and Milan Kundera.
This year, the institution also exceptionally awarded a special jury prize to Smith, describing the US singer as “a major figure in contemporary artistic creation, whose work has spanned poetry, literature, music, photography and the visual arts for several decades."
– TIMES/AFP
