Spinoza Lecture 2024: Ignacio Martínez de Pisón

Ignacio Martínez de Pisón will be in charge of directing this new edition, an annual literary event in the Netherlands that has featured prominent exponents of Hispanic literature, such as Mario Vargas Llosa and Elena Poniatowska.

Organized by the Spanish Embassy in the Netherlands, the Cervantes Institute, and the University of Leiden, the Spinoza Lecture is an annual literary event that celebrates Spanish literature and features a prominent figure from the Hispanic literary world each year. In its 17th edition, the conference will be led by the writer and screenwriter from Zaragoza, Ignacio Martínez de Pisón, at the University of Leiden’s campus in The Hague.

Ignacio Martínez de Pisón

Martínez de Pisón will discuss the works of Benito Pérez Galdós, examining their impact on Spanish literature and their relevance today. Drawing on his experience as a writer and essayist, he will reflect on the evolution of Spanish narrative over time. His notable works include Carreteras secundarias (1996), El tiempo de las mujeres (2003), and the essay Enterrar a los muertos (2005), which won the Rodolfo Walsh and Dulce Chacón awards and received critical acclaim in several European countries. His latest book, Filek. El estafador que engañó a Franco (2018), has been translated into a dozen languages, including Dutch.