News
21 of February of 2025
Livraria Lello celebrates the acquisition of Amy Winehouse's personal collection
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Between 9am and 7pm, by reservation and with a guided tour, visitors to Livraria Lello can appreciate and enjoy the latest addition to the Gemma Room: Amy Winehouse's personal collection, comprising more than 200 books.
The acquisition of the collection, now part of the exclusive space dedicated to the bookshop's most valuable literary jewels, offers an intimate and revealing look into the life and creative process of one of the most striking artists of the 21st century. The presentation took place on 20 February, in a special and very emotional event, with an intimate concert by Amy Winehouse's original band, ‘recreating, for a moment, the intensity and soul of the artist in an evening of homage and sharing’.
Amy Winehouse's relationship with books went far beyond the pleasure of reading. As her brother, Alex Winehouse, revealed, the artist had an intense but discreet connection with literature: ‘Amy was slightly embarrassed by how intelligent she was. She had lots of Jackie Collins novels lying around the house, but hid her Dostoevsky collection in a cupboard.’ This collection reflects that duality: irreverence and depth, the pop universe and classic literature. More than a set of books, it is a portrait of Amy Winehouse's creative restlessness. Many of the copies show signs of heavy use, with coffee stains, candle wax and even watermarks, possibly the result of her habit of reading in the bath. A lived-in collection, in the image of its owner.
Over the years, Livraria Lello has preserved different forms of relationship with books. If, with the Coimbra Editora estate, it has ensured the memory of an unavoidable publishing house for legal and academic thought in Portugal, and with Brazenhead Books it has rescued the legacy of a clandestine bookshop that resisted for decades in New York, with the Amy Winehouse library it adds a new perspective: the role of literature in contemporary artistic creation.
The acquisition of the collection, now part of the exclusive space dedicated to the bookshop's most valuable literary jewels, offers an intimate and revealing look into the life and creative process of one of the most striking artists of the 21st century. The presentation took place on 20 February, in a special and very emotional event, with an intimate concert by Amy Winehouse's original band, ‘recreating, for a moment, the intensity and soul of the artist in an evening of homage and sharing’.
Amy Winehouse's relationship with books went far beyond the pleasure of reading. As her brother, Alex Winehouse, revealed, the artist had an intense but discreet connection with literature: ‘Amy was slightly embarrassed by how intelligent she was. She had lots of Jackie Collins novels lying around the house, but hid her Dostoevsky collection in a cupboard.’ This collection reflects that duality: irreverence and depth, the pop universe and classic literature. More than a set of books, it is a portrait of Amy Winehouse's creative restlessness. Many of the copies show signs of heavy use, with coffee stains, candle wax and even watermarks, possibly the result of her habit of reading in the bath. A lived-in collection, in the image of its owner.
Over the years, Livraria Lello has preserved different forms of relationship with books. If, with the Coimbra Editora estate, it has ensured the memory of an unavoidable publishing house for legal and academic thought in Portugal, and with Brazenhead Books it has rescued the legacy of a clandestine bookshop that resisted for decades in New York, with the Amy Winehouse library it adds a new perspective: the role of literature in contemporary artistic creation.
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