The cobblestone streets of Old Havana are set to host a unique cultural rendezvous each Saturday morning. At 11:00 AM local time, the historic Calle de Madera adjacent to the Plaza de Armas transforms into an open-air literary salon, courtesy of an initiative by Cuba’s national publishing institution.
This weekly event, orchestrated by the Cuban Book Institute (ICL) and facilitated by the Arte y Literatura publishing house, invites readers to collectively explore Virginia Woolf’s groundbreaking 1925 novel ‘Mrs. Dalloway’. The gathering represents Cuba’s ongoing commitment to making world literature accessible to the public in engaging formats.
The novel itself, celebrating nearly a century since publication, continues to captivate readers with its revolutionary narrative technique. Woolf’s masterpiece chronicles a single day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway as she prepares for a evening party, using this seemingly simple framework to launch profound explorations of consciousness and society.
Through innovative literary devices including fluid time transitions, psychological flashbacks, and pioneering stream-of-consciousness writing, Woolf creates a richly textured portrait of her protagonist’s inner world. The narrative’s poetic imagery and emotional depth reveal the complex interior landscape of a woman navigating post-war English society.
Beyond its psychological insights, the novel offers a critical examination of British society in the aftermath of World War I (1914-1918). Woolf’s narrative subtly exposes the social tensions, psychological wounds, and profound transformations that characterized the interwar period, making the work both a literary milestone and valuable historical document.
The regular gathering demonstrates how classic literature continues to find new audiences and contexts, with Havana’s historic quarter providing a evocative backdrop for discussions of this modernist classic.