What you love. Word recall, live reading
Miren Billelabeitia
Pamiela, 2022

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Miren Billelabeitia has been a professor at the institute, a literary aficionado and a professor of Universal Literature for years. In 2022 he published with Pamiela the book Loving Oneself and in 2023 he was awarded the Euskadi Prize for his work.

In this essay work he shares his knowledge and experience with students, such as A thousand and one more nights, Hamlet, Metamorphosis or A classroom reading the same and its consequences.
The author defines himself as a professor and reader and uses the words “indefatigable student” to define both characters. This shows us how important it is for him to be constantly searching, rehearsing and adapting what literature teaches.

The classics classify them and try to eradicate the prejudices about it: the unknown and the ‘difficult’ can be a challenge and a discovery if it is accompanied along the way; if we limit literary hobby to the comprehension of simple texts, there will be no possibility to work literary competences or critical points of view; the classics are recommended for all generations, also for young people, because they allow to connect and get excited if we work a little.
It means that there are obstacles to reading and speaking in Euskera, but literary tertulias are a good opportunity for students to put the language into practice and to enhance their practice, both in reading, debate and writing.

For reading, he likes lectures or tertulias: the full books recommended by the teacher will read them by chapters at home and in class will share doubts, chosen passages and connections with his chained experiences. Finally, they will be trained in reflection and enjoy the contributions of literature, “thanks to communicative and community ties”.

Because achieving a “more reading society” is everyone’s responsibility, not just education. He believes that we should act with literature as with the promotion of sport: “Because we have very well strengthened the body part of the old Latin saying, but as far as mens are concerned, I think we’ve stayed a bit behind.”