"The classics sometimes amaze us with an attitude and a brilliance of analysis that is absolutely valid in the contemporary world, with approaches and dilemmas that we still do not have resolved today. That is why I advocate letting their voice be heard and dialoguing with them". This is what Irene Vallejo, winner of the National award of essay 2020 for her book El infinito en un junco, said at the University of Navarra. The writer intervened in a roundtable with students of the School of Philosophy and Letters, on the occasion of the Day of her patron saint. At her visit, she also held a colloquium with students from the Degrees in Literature and Creative Writing (LEC), Philology Hispanic and of the Diploma in Archaeology.

"The referents of cinema, video games, literature, often come from antiquity, but we don't talk about those sources because we are used to forgetting the origin of our stories, texts and cultural manifestations. The classics are everywhere, although sometimes we don't thank them," she explained. In this sense, the writer acknowledged that her latest book, the best seller during the confinement, "was born to make explicit that gratitude that we often fail to recognize and that sometimes leads us to make wrong decisions".

Asked about the discussion that in recent years has arisen around the morality of those who preceded us and the value judgments to which some of the most prestigious works of the past have been subjected, the speaker appealed to the critical sense and disagreed with the idea of eliminating or censoring those that might offend the sensibilities: "For a long time the classics have been read with excessive reverence. They had their biases, because they belonged to their time, but we have to find a balance between respect for the original work, as it was formulated in its context, and our ability to read it critically, appreciating the valuable messages of the past".

Changing history or embellishing it does not teach us from past mistakes.

According to speaker, this is the only way to learn from past mistakes. "If we read Mark Twain but eliminate the racist aspects of his literature, we falsify the past and certain attitudes that we do not agree with agreement but that we need to know in order to avoid doing so again. If we modify the sources, which are the test final that this reality existed, and we change history or embellish it, it stops teaching us, stops questioning us, stops telling us who we were and where we come from."

Vallejo also highlighted the role of books in the transmission of knowledge and the possibility they give us to establish a dialogue with those who preceded us, "with the best minds of each era": "This is a wonderful phenomenon that only happens to human beings. Reading allows this connection between generations, it makes it easier for us to continue weaving a wonderful cultural history, to speak and listen to the voice of the dead. I believe that we must exercise this privilege, not only to learn lessons, but also because it is a pleasure," he concluded.

Also speaking at the roundtable were Javier Andreu, Associate Dean de Alumnos de la School of Philosophy and Letters and director of Diploma in Archaeology, and Rosalía Baena, professor of Philology English. At the end of the ceremony, presided over by Julia Pavón, dean of the School, the Extraordinary End of Degree Awards were given to Jerónimo Ayesta, from Philosophy; Blanca Bistué, from Humanities; María Jaurrieta, from History; and Mikel Ortiz de Zárate, from Philology.