A Life in Books

Aditha Dissanayake

Food for the soul

(1) Share your passion for an author and offer his or her book to people around you!

(2) Take this opportunity to discover something new from what you're used to read.

(3) Leave a book on a park bench or a seat of a bus or train with a note saying “Happy Book and Copyright Day!”

(4) Find out how to send your old books to schools and libraries in rural areas

(5) Educate yourself on books pirating: respect for copyright encourages the dissemination of knowledge and rewards their creators and publishers.

(6) Never throw away your books, get involved in local community or online book swapping and donation campaigns and initiatives.

(7)Plan local reading events in schools and libraries and encourage famous guest readers to get involved.

If you happened to be in Madrid last week you would have had a day off from work. April 23, in Spain is a holiday. Unlike the rest of us, Spaniards celebrate World Book Day in a big way. If you happened to walk into a bookstore in Spain on World Book day to purchase a book you would have received a rose along with the book because Spaniards believe strongly in the saying “a rose for love and a book forever.” For, out there in Spain, April 23rd has become something like Valentine’s Day in which lovers exchange books and roses. In the past, the tradition was that women give the men books and the women receive roses. Today this rule no longer stands. You can give anyone a book as a gift and receive a rose in return. Makes you gasp and wish what a fantastic holiday – one that should surely be celebrated here in Sri Lanka too.

But why April 23rd? What is special about this particular day? On the contrary one should rather ask, what is not special about April 23rd, especially in the literary world? It so happens that April 23rd is the day, Spain’s most famous novelist, Miguel de Cervantes passed away. (It could be why Spain is so interested in celebrating this day). April 23 also happens to be the day William Shakespeare was born as well as the day he breathed his last. And if that is not enough reason to have bought and read a book on Book Day, consider also that April 23, 1850 was the day that William Wordsworth died. April 23, 1902 was Iceland’s Nobel Prize Winning author Halldór Laxness’ birthday, so too that of French writer Maurice Druon who was also born on this day but in 1920. And so on and so forth. The list is endless.

Got the idea? Yes, there are no doubts about it. If you were born on this auspicious day, you are destined to be a great writer. And if you already are a great writer, better stay in bed all day on April 23, and avoid automobiles, planes and slippery floors.

There is another story behind World Book and Copyright Day. Legend has it once long ago, a terrible dragon terrorized a town, demanding that the inhabitants sacrifice two sheep a day to keep him fed. Once the sheep were gone, the townspeople were forced to sacrifice their children, chosen each day by lottery. The day the king's daughter was to be devoured by the dragon Saint George happened to pass by. Realizing what was happening he slew the beast with his sword.

The dragon's blood spilled to the ground; on that spot a rosebush grew. Saint George plucked the rose and gave it to the princess.

From then on for many years, a man's gift of a rose to his girlfriend was the accepted form of celebration of Saint George's Day, sometimes called the ‘Day of the Rose’ or the ‘Day of the Lovers.’ During the 1920s, a Catalonian bookseller noted that April 23 was also the day William Shakespeare and Miguel Cervantes passed away (both in 1616). In a brilliant, enterprising stroke of book promotion, it was determined that a book would be the perfect gift to be given in exchange for the rose. Thus was established El dia de Libre.

In 1995, probably inspired by the Catalan El dia del Libre, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared April 23 to be World Book and Copyright Day. To quote from a statement made by UNESCO, “April 23 is a symbolic date for world literature for on this date in 1616, Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all die - doubtless a sad day, but a useful one nevertheless. As Irina Bokova, Director General, UNESCO states our relationship with books determines, to a large extent, our relationship with culture. It is important “to rally around books and support those who make their living from them and those who make them live.”

The Director General also states in her message for World Book and Copyright Day 2013, “UNESCO has celebrated World Book and Copyright Day on April 23 for 17 years now. UNESCO Member States around the world celebrate the power of books to bring us together and transmit the culture of peoples and their dreams of a better future.

This day provides an opportunity to reflect together on ways to better disseminate the culture of the written word and to allow all individuals, men, women and children to access it, through literacy programmes and support for careers in publishing, book shops, libraries and schools. Books are our allies in spreading education, science, culture and information worldwide.”

She further adds, “This day also calls us to reflect on the changes in books over the long term and the intangible values that should guide us. Digital books offer new opportunities for access to knowledge, at reduced costs and over wide geographical areas. Traditional books are still powerful technology: portable and standing the test of time. All forms of books make a valuable contribution to education and the dissemination of culture and information.

The diversity of books and editorial content is a source of enrichment that we must support through appropriate public policies and protect from uniformity. This bibliodiversity is our common wealth, making books much more than a physical object, for they are our most beautiful invention for sharing ideas beyond the boundaries of space and time.”

The best way to celebrate the World Book Day would be to gift a book to a child. A book that would drag them into the innocent and fascinating world of the imagination, permanently shutting the doors of television and video games and would inculcate the habit of reading in a child to last a lifetime.

Let the spirit of Book Day prevail throughout the year. Tell everyone you know, to do what American film and television star Groucho Marx did, “I find television to be very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go in the other room and read a book.”

You won't regret it. Trust me.

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