Writing as a Witchcraft

Writing is happiness, memory, and transformation: an attempt to give form to reality while seeing it anew. Following a path from Borges and Proust to Nabokov and Pascoli, this informal talk explores writing as the art of discovering unexpected connections — turning the moon into a silver flower, avarice into a she-wolf, and life into a sweet wine that eventually turns sour. Apuleius, the second-century African author of The Metamorphoses, was not only a writer: he was also a sorcerer.

As all writers should be.

Sponsored by the Department of Languages, Literatures & Cultures and the First Year Seminar program.