It is an almost heroic act to devote the final hours of an exhausting day to literature, when body and mind seem unable to bear any further effort. It really is the devil, as Carpeaux once vented. And through another venting, that of Ferreira de Castro, one realizes that the situation never takes any form other than that of a grueling struggle: even habit does not seem strong enough to prevent those days when one succumbs to exhaustion, when one cannot think, and cannot write. Ah, how much easier life would be without these two occupations! And yet, such is the lot of most writers, and it was under similar conditions that duty overcame nature and produced much of the best that literature has to offer.
Literarily Speaking, There Is No Doubt…
Literarily speaking, there is no doubt that the didactic and confessional tones are not among the most refined forms, and that they often provoke aversion in experienced readers. However, if we take Tolstoy as an example, we will see that, although they are certainly not his masterpieces, the books he wrote using these tones possess a special charm. It is as if the great author, the man of indisputably recognized qualities, were to strip himself of all sorts of artifice in order to objectively express what has most deeply affected him and what, if he could, he would like to teach us. For a novelist, this is an act that requires courage, because it means producing a work lacking in literary charm, a work that will likely displease. But we, who read it, cannot deny that, through it, we come a little closer to the man who chose neither to hide nor to protect himself.
The Visual Arts Possess a Special Capacity to Shock
The visual arts possess a special capacity to shock—instantly, unexpectedly—which, from the very first encounter, can create a memory that will never fade. This is, for example, what can happen to someone standing before a sculpture by Aleijadinho for the first time. The moment the eyes fix on the work and grasp its drama, it is as if it pierces them like a bolt of lightning; there is a startle, and that instant of bewilderment is etched forever in the mind. Afterward, one admires the details and reflects on the impossible feat; but from then on, it is that sudden shock that the mind will first recall whenever it evokes the name of the brilliant creator.
Gilberto Freyre, Mário Ferreira dos Santos and Otto Maria Carpeaux…
Gilberto Freyre, Mário Ferreira dos Santos, and Otto Maria Carpeaux: three authors who, on their own, could transform Brazil into a new civilization. Add to that, just to stick with them, the dozens of excellent poets the country has already produced, and we would have a broad and fertile literary landscape, sufficient to lay the foundations for a solid intellectual education. All of this already exists and is available to anyone interested. One need only get to know them to see how foolish the claim that “Brazilian literature is worthless” really is. The new civilization, however, may never come; but the offshoots of the one that once existed have already proven themselves worthy of a place in the pantheon of universal culture.