GILGAMESH AND THE SEARCH FOR IMMORTALITY
There are those that believe, and they may be right, that the Epic of Gilgamesh, apart from being the first known written literary work, was also the first non-realist book in history. In other words, humanity's first written work entirely belongs to fantasy genres: not only is the perplexed protagonist desperately seeking immortality, but we also encounter beings of stone, celestial bulls, gods and goddesses, scorpion-men, apocalyptic rainstorms and other mythological and fabulous elements. Even so, few modern readers know the text well, and even fewer fantasy fans. With Gilgamesh experts Jordi Balló and Xavier Pérez, the authors of the epilogue in the pocket edition of La epopeya de Gilgamesh and La llavor immortal, we will analyse the importance of this story in the history of fantasy and its influence on later works. They will be accompanied by Arnau López Mazorriaga, author of a suggestive 2022 graphic novel which contains a version of the classic. The activity is moderated by the essayist Juanma Santiago who, among other things, will help us to clarify, once and for all, the substantial difference between Gilgamesh and Gigamesh.