The Blue Line: A Novel

Ingrid Betancourt In conversation with Alicia Partnoy, author and professor
Tuesday, Feb 9, 2016 | 7:15pm Mark Taper Auditorium-Central Library

Betancourt, the extraordinary Colombian French politician and activist, whose New York Times bestselling memoir chronicled her six and a half year captivity in the Colombian jungle by the FARC, offers a stunning debut novel about freedom and fate. Set against the backdrop of Argentina’s Dirty War and infused with magical realism, The Blue Line is a breathtaking love story and deeply felt portrait of a woman coming of age as her country falls deeper and deeper into chaos. Hear from Betancourt about this new work that draws on themes from her own remarkable life—political oppression, individual courage, hope, and faith—as ordinary people are caught up in the hurricanes of history.

Ingrid Betancourt

Ingrid Betancourt was captured by guerillas belonging to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) as she campaigned for the Colombian presidency on February 23, 2002. She was held hostage for six years in the Colombian jungle, and liberated in 2008. Her memoir about her time in captivity, Even Silence Has An End, was a New York Times and international bestseller. She currently works to draw attention to the plight of hostages and victims of terrorism around the world. She lives in London.

Alicia Partnoy

Alicia Partnoy is a survivor from the secret detention camps where about 30,000 people ‘disappeared’ in Argentina. Best known for The Little School: Tales of Disappearance and Survival, Partnoy also published the poetry collections Flowering Fires/Fuegos florales (recipient of the First Settlement House American Poetry Prize) and Little Low Flying/Volando bajito, both translated by Gail Wronsky. Her work has been translated into several languages, including Hebrew and Hindi. Alicia Partnoy is a founding member of Proyecto VOS-Voices of Survivors, an organization that brings survivors of state sponsored violence to lecture at U.S. universities. She teaches at Loyola Marymount University.

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Main image credit: Cover art, The Blue Line: A Novel

 

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