Livraria Lello displays Camilo Castelo Branco's glasses to highlight the writer's human side

In the final stretch of Camilo's bicentennial, Livraria Lello and the Faculty of Medicine Museums replicate the moment when Camilo Castelo Branco discovers that he would live blind for the rest of his days. The aim of the meeting is to reflect on the barriers to writing with progressive blindness and explore new dimensions of the writer, such as the mental health challenges he faced. The event, scheduled for 4 November at 9 p.m. at Livraria Lello, is inclusive in nature.

In partnership with the Museums of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto, the Porto bookshop is promoting the meeting ‘Camilo and (In)visibility: Medicine, Literature and History’, dedicated to the relationship between the life and work of the writer Camilo Castelo Branco, and to the dissemination of the ophthalmological collection of the Faculty of Medicine's museums, which brings together dozens of historical objects.

By bringing the atmosphere of an ophthalmology clinic to the bookshop, replicating the moment when Camilo realised that his visual impairment was irreversible, the event highlights the impact that the loss of his sight had on the writer.

This is the starting point for the discussion, which will feature Amândio Rocha Sousa, director of Ophthalmology at ULS São João; José Paulo Andrade, coordinator of the Museums of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto; Jorge Sobrado, vice-president of CCDR-Norte, who will moderate the conversation; and the poet João Habitualmente, who is also an associate professor of Psychology, under the name Luís Fernandes.

For the chair of the board of directors of Livraria Lello, Aurora Pedro Pinto, ‘the fact that Camilo persisted in writing while losing his visual abilities demonstrates the perseverance of a great writer’. On the other hand, for the administrator, ‘the meeting also highlights the mental health challenges faced by the writer, inherent to the loss of physical faculties, which, unfortunately, led to a tragic and regrettable outcome.’
 

‘Love gives courage and weakness. It is, and always will be, a mystery.’

Camilo Castelo Branco, in Anátema
 

At this event, Livraria Lello will be displaying various ophthalmological objects used in the author's time: Camilo Castelo Branco's glasses, a box of lenses belonging to Dr. Plácido da Costa (a highly important figure in this field of medicine), and a Plácido disc, one of the valuable instruments developed by the doctor.

The event, which will take place on 4 November at 9 p.m. at Livraria Lello, is inclusive and accessible to blind people. Members of the board of ACAPO - Associação dos Cegos e Amblíopes de Portugal (Association of the Blind and Visually Impaired of Portugal) will be present.

The discussion surrounding Camilo's life and the challenges of continuing to write despite his progressive blindness reinforces Livraria Lello's mission to make literature a space for sharing, knowledge and inclusion.

At a time when Camilo's romantic side is being highlighted, present in widely acclaimed and beloved books such as ‘Amor de Perdição’ (Doomed Love), published under the Livraria Lello imprint, the bookshop considers it crucial to explore a darker side: that of the physical decline of someone who lives from writing. How does the first professional writer in our country live and write without seeing the paper?

Livraria Lello is part of the ‘Camillo - Rotas do Escritor’ (Camillo - The Writer's Routes) project, which celebrates the 200th anniversary of Camilo Castelo Branco. As a partner, the bookshop is responsible for organising another forum on the writer's life and work.