Brazil · Culture

Brazilian author and conductor Felipe Cattapan London readers will get a rare chance to meet the Rio de Janeiro-born writer this July, as he presents his latest book, a genre-blending work that fuses a theater play with a novella, at a Brazilian cultural hub in the UK capital.

Brazilian Author Felipe Cattapan Brings Apocalyptic Love Story to London. (Photo internet reproduction)

A Book That Defies Genres

The work, titled “Um Espaço além do Tempo, um Tempo além do Espaço” (which translates to “A Space Beyond Time, A Time Beyond Space”), is not a straightforward novel. Published by Kotter Editorial, a house with a presence in both Brazil and Portugal, the book contains two distinct yet thematically linked unpublished pieces: the theater play “X Minutos” (X Minutes) and the novella “Emulação” (Emulation).

The central thread is unconditional love set against an apocalyptic backdrop. Cattapan uses this extreme setting to explore human relationships across time and space, creating what his announcement describes as a guide to a “different level of consciousness.” His writing style uniquely blends prose and poetry, a technique heavily inspired by his parallel career in classical music.

For a foreign audience, this hybrid format is worth understanding. In Brazilian literary culture, it is not unusual for authors to move fluidly between forms—poetry, theater, and prose—often within a single volume.

Cattapan’s decision to pair a play with a novella reflects a broader Lusophone tradition where the boundaries between literary genres are treated as porous, inviting the reader to experience the same emotional core from different structural angles.

From Piano in Rio to Podium in Europe

For international readers unfamiliar with his work, Felipe Cattapan’s path is deeply interdisciplinary. Born in Rio de Janeiro, he first studied piano in his home city before moving to Europe to pursue orchestral and choir conducting. His credentials include studies at the prestigious Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris and the École Normale de Paris, followed by a contemporary music conducting degree in Lugano, Switzerland.

Since 2010, he has worked professionally with literature, writing poems, short stories, and theater plays in his native Brazilian Portuguese. His first edition was published in 2018.

Today, he balances his writing with a role as a lecturer at the University of the Arts Bern in Switzerland, where he also directs interdisciplinary projects that sit at the interface of literature and music.

This dual life as a conductor and writer is central to understanding his literary voice. Musicians who turn to literature often bring a distinct sensitivity to rhythm, silence, and structure.

In Cattapan’s case, the prose-poetry blend he employs is not merely decorative; it mirrors the way a musical score alternates between tension and release, a quality that likely shapes how the apocalyptic love story unfolds on the page.

Event Details for London Attendees

The London presentation is scheduled for July 26, 2024, running from 2 PM to 4 PM local time. The venue is the Biblioteca Brasileira Casa do Livro, a Brazilian library in London that serves as a cultural bridge, often hosting Lusophone authors and artists.

The event follows what was described as a successful launch in Zurich, Switzerland, on May 27, 2024.

The book is written entirely in Portuguese, so the event will be most accessible to Portuguese speakers or those with a deep interest in Brazilian literature in its original language. No entry fee or ticket price was specified in the author’s announcement, suggesting a free, open-door cultural event typical of such library-hosted literary afternoons.

For anyone planning to attend, it helps to know that the Biblioteca Brasileira Casa do Livro occupies a special niche in London’s multicultural landscape. Such libraries function as more than book repositories; they are community living rooms where the Brazilian diaspora and UK-based Lusophiles gather for readings, workshops, and conversations that rarely make it into mainstream British arts listings.

An afternoon event of this kind typically includes a reading by the author, a moderated conversation, and an open question session, all conducted in Portuguese.

The broader significance of this London date lies in what it says about the circulation of contemporary Brazilian literature. While translated Brazilian classics occasionally surface in English-language bookshops, living authors writing in Portuguese often reach international audiences through exactly this kind of grassroots, community-anchored event.

It is a reminder that a book’s journey beyond its home market frequently depends on cultural institutions that operate below the radar of large publishing fairs.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Felipe Cattapan presenting a book in London in 2026?

No. According to the author’s own announcement and available sources, the confirmed London event at the Biblioteca Brasileira Casa do Livro took place on July 26, 2024. There is no evidence of a 2026 London presentation.

What is Felipe Cattapan’s book about?

The book “Um Espaço além do Tempo, um Tempo além do Espaço” combines a theater play and a novella. It explores unconditional love in an apocalyptic setting, crossing themes of time, space, and human relationships in contexts of existential tension.

In what language is the book written?

The book is written in Brazilian Portuguese. The London event was hosted at a Brazilian cultural library, and the presentation was conducted in that linguistic context.