On a street we imagine as being the right one for where we want to go, we find one of those large second-hand bookshops, which are increasingly rare and appear to exist in order to contain all the books, of all ages, of all worlds.

Stéphane Mallarmé is the poet of the absolutisation of literature. He eliminated the author and all circumstance so that only words would shine in their beautiful nature. ‘Mallarmé’s Book’ is a mythical object, an idealisation removed from all worldliness: in it, the world should disappear, not become more readable.

For the ‘Subject’ of this issue of Electra, the topic is ‘The Book’. We have gathered together texts that address important issues in a prominent field within cultural history: the history of the book and its dissemination, from the invention of the printing press to the ebook, to the changes in the publishing world and in the ways of reading, and to the ‘penalisation’ of books by the historical mechanisms of censorship. The authors of these texts are scholars and experts in various fields, since no other subject demands such a degree of interdisciplinary collaboration as this one. In alphabetical order, here are their names: Roger Chartier, Diogo Ramada Curto, Robert Darnton, Adam Garfinkle, Rita Luís and John B. Thompson. So this, then, is the enormous topic which they all approach: ‘The Book’. Although inefficiently, the inverted commas serve to suggest that when we refer to this topic in the abstract, we are evoking two different but inseparable things: books, those objects of great cultural prestige, serving as the instruments and foundation of the ‘civilisational project’; and the Book, with a capital letter, which immediately makes us think of the Bible, but also refers to a trans-historical entity that exists beyond its material manifestations. The Book is more than individual books; it transcends the printed book, generating a grandiose family of metaphors, such as, for instance, the ‘Book of Nature’. What this demonstrates is that throughout the history of the book as an object, it has been seen as powerful and as carrying great symbolic weight. Therefore, ‘The Book’, the ‘Subject’ of this issue of Electra, is both books and the Book.

Renowned Mexican writer Brenda Lozano, author of the novel Loop, writes about Mexico City in this ‘View from Delft’. Drawing inspiration from Georges Perec's book I Remember, the author uses the anaphora ‘I remember’ in an obsessive, initiatory and repetitive manner, thus affording her recollections of the city where she was born and her life there, an enchanting tone of nostalgia and recognition.

His name generates admiration and controversy. He is Emir Kusturica, one of today's most acclaimed and divisive film directors. True to himself, in the interview he gave to journalist Andrea Prada Bianchi for Electra – a rare occurrence since he does not like giving interviews – he talks about himself and the world today with that eloquent and provocative tone which has come to characterise him. Andrea Prada Bianchi is Italian, lives in New York, and has reported from all over the world, having collaborated with, among others, The Guardian, Le Monde, Foreign Policy and National Geographic. At Kusturica's invitation, the journalist met with him at the Küstendorf film festival in Serbia, where they talked during an unforgettable car journey, narrated here as if it were a novel.

The centenary of the publication of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf prompts a reflection by Christian Salmon on the political origins of what is now emerging, which bears the traits of neo-fascism. Essayist, novelist and author of an important bibliography in the field of political studies, his latest book is L'Empire du discredit.

Jean-Luc Godard was not only one of the most important directors in the history of cinema, he was also a visual artist with a body of work encompassing painting, gouache, drawing and photography. The dialogue between these two aspects forms the basis of a major exhibition at the Casa do Cinema Manoel de Oliveira, at the Serralves Foundation, entitled Taking Current Times into Consideration: Jean-Luc Godard – Visual Artist. This exhibition, and the review of his filmography, provide the main material for a broad overview by Francisco Noronha of Godard’s biographical and artistic career.

With exhibitions in some of the most prestigious contemporary art venues and considered one of the most active and influential artists of today, Miriam Cahn is the creator of a vast body of work (painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, performance, installation), in which the major issues and causes of our time (feminism, ecology, pacifism, war, refugees, vulnerable populations) take shape and form with an intensity and power that, all too often, attain the raw vigour of combat and protest.
Placing the body (physical and mental), both her own and others’, at the centre, this radical and unique work challenges stability and confronts us as it reveals, through its bursts of light and its colours, the lofty nakedness of violence and desire. The space and architecture, which renders it a shelter, hiding place, or passageway, are also reflected in the visual communication of thought.
This portfolio, prepared by the Swiss artist for Electra, is representative of her works on paper over the last thirty years. Miriam Cahn's first solo exhibition in Portugal will be presented at the MAAT (Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology, Lisbon) from June this year.

In December 2023, the Holy See published the ‘Fiducia Supplicans Declaration on the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings’, approved by Pope Francis, which recognised the possibility of granting blessings to ‘couples in irregular situations and to couples of the same sex’. The document sparked significant controversy, with some arguing it went too far while still others believed it didn’t go far enough. Having an in-depth knowledge of this topic and its doctrinal subtleties, the poet José António Almeida, a Catholic and a homosexual, author of O Casamento Sempre Foi Gay e Nunca Triste [Marriage Has Always Been Gay and Never Sad], writes here on the matter.

Giancarlo Consonni, poet and emeritus professor of Urban Planning at the Faculty of Architecture of Milan Polytechnic, writes about a theme that runs through some of his books: the disappearance of the historic city, the regression of urbanity, and the degradation of urban beauty. His latest book is almost a manifesto: Non si salva il pianeta si non si salvano le città [The planet can’t be saved unless the cities are saved].

‘Thought is made in the mouth’, said Tristan Tzara in one of his manifestos. The immobilising conceptualism of his words struck a decisive blow against the philosophical recital of aggrandisements inherent in oratory. Much has been said recently about the incessant chatter, and yet the mainstream media systematically disseminate messages that block the process by which judgements might clarify themselves, undermining the perceptions fed by their own drumbeat.