José Manuel Bolieiro wants to make the Azores a destination for literary residencies - Communication

Presidência do Governo Regional

The President of the Regional Government, José Manuel Bolieiro, presented the book "Uma Varanda Sobre Tóquio" by David Lopes on Monday, adding that, under the author's initiative, the Nobel Prize for Literature winner Olga Tokarcsuck will be in the Azores next month for what is intended to be the first of several literary residencies.

"From the beginning, inspired by this project of literary residencies, and with the first impulse and support of David Lopes, I am announcing firsthand that we will have the first and experimental literary residency in the Azores next month, featuring international writer, Nobel Prize winner Olga Tokarcsuck. This pioneering experience was launched by David Lopes and supported by the Praia da Vitória City Council," said the President of the Government.

He continued: "What a joy this achievement is, which distinguishes the Azores and gives it worldwide prestige and visibility, namely among writers of the highest calibre who have won national and international prizes."

The book "Uma Varanda Sobre Tóquio" was presented at the Letras Lavadas bookshop in Ponta Delgada.

On the occasion, José Manuel Bolieiro recalled that the XIV Regional Government "is creating the so-called Book Voucher, amounting to 100 Euros, as an incentive to encourage the purchase of books, in paper format, for reading," stressing that this is "worth a birthday present for every young person who reaches 18."

In addition, the President of the Government recalled the aim of increasingly turning the Azores, already an archipelago of writers, into an "archipelago of readers."

"David Lopes' first trip to Japan was in 2019 for work purposes. Interestingly, it was exactly 130 years since the famous writer and naval officer Venceslau de Morais first arrived in Japan. For 40 years, until his death in 1929, Venceslau de Morais shared his intimate experiences of daily life in Japan with his Portuguese readers through the various books he published on subjects related to the Orient, especially Japan. With David Lopes, we not only have the privilege of reading his book, as with Venceslau de Morais, but we have the opportunity to have him here among us," praised José Manuel Bolieiro.

David Lopes was chairman of Aeon Topvalu, a company belonging to Japan's Aeon Group. Previously, he was director and CEO of the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation and director of the Lisbon Oceanarium.

He has a degree in Business Organisation and Management. He served for three years as international president of the American company Daymon Worldwide (a global company, leader in the development of food brands), where he was responsible for managing international joint ventures and developing business operations and expansion in Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa.

He is a founding member of the Portuguese Diaspora Council and the current entrepreneur of a public reading project (" The House of Letters") in a small Alentejo town.

"I wanted to write this book because Japan was my most intense and different personal and professional experience. I wanted to write down a lot of what I discovered every day. At first, it was meant to be a memoir to share with friends and acquaintances. They told me that these portraits could go further and create a greater common interest among Portuguese and Japanese readers in a story that has a lot in common," says the author about "Uma Varanda Sobre Tóquio."