EI was in Calcutta at a literature event in which 14 European writers read excerpts from their work or spoke about it to an audience of around 30 people. From the outside and from a distance it seems like a good idea, but closer, that is, on the day of the event, when they informed me that the format would be speed dating and we would have to carry out 12 consecutive sessions with 20 minute breaks, between blocks of three groups, everything changed. I felt cheated, because I had been invited to just one performance. I knew, from the start, that I wouldn’t be able to “teach” 12 “classes” in a row. That time is over in my life. The organization of the event was indifferent to me. I owed them nothing. But with readers it’s different. Talking to people is very important to me. I made a personal commitment: “I will do what I can.”