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Event 36: Thomas Schlesser in conversation with Elena Garrigues
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Back to HAY FESTIVAL SEGOVIA 2026
Sat, Sep 12, 2026
1:30 PM – 2:20 PM (GMT+2)
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What can poetry do for us? Can it change our relationship with words, pain, beauty, nature, love, and life itself?
Thomas Schlesser, art historian and author of the bestselling phenomenon Mona’s Eyes and the philosophical novel The Gardener’s Cat, will discuss poetry as one of the oldest and most powerful ways of giving meaning to the world through language. He will be joined by Elena Garrigues, art and culture expert and Ethics professor at IE University. The event will be presented by Zélie Perpignaa, specialist in cultural mediation and Attaché for Books, Public Debate and Media Libraries at the Institut Français of Spain.
At the end of the event, the author will sign copies of his books.
Event in French with simultaneous interpretation into Spanish.
Speakers
Thomas Schlesser
Director of he Hartung-Bergman Foundation
Thomas Schlesser directs the Hartung-Bergman Foundation and is a professor at the École Polytechnique in Paris. He is an art historian and the author of numerous essays, including Faire rêver and Anna-Eva Bergman: vies lumineuses. The publication of his novel Mona’s Eyes, a finalist for the 2024 Grand Prix RTL-Lire Magazine Littéraire, Barnes & Noble’s Book of the Year, one of the best books of 2024 according to Vogue, and one of the 35 best books of 2024 according to Elle, has become a publishing sensation with 1,000,000 copies sold in 60 countries. In 2025, she was named Author of the Year at the Trophées de l’édition Awards.
Elena Garrigues
Professor of Ethics at lE University
Elena Garrigues works as a professor of Ethics at lE University. With a deep interest in cultural issues, she began her career as a correspondent for various media outlets. She serves on the board of three foundations: one focused on inclusive entrepreneurship (Nantik Lum), one on human rights (Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Spain), and one dedicated to helping children and adolescents (ANAR).
Zélie Perpignaa
Publisher
https://www.linkedin.com/in/z%C3%A9lie-perpignaa/
Zélie Perpignaa is the attaché for Books, Intellectual Exchange, and Media Libraries at the Institut Français in Spain. She previously worked in the publishing industry as a press officer at Calmann-Lévy, having gained experience at the publishing house Grasset, as well as in New York at the Villa Albertine. She specializes in book promotion and cultural mediation.