The truth is that Brazilian literature is already relevant worldwide. It is just that the world has not discovered it yet. Mário Ferreira dos Santos, Otto Maria Carpeaux and Gilberto Freyre: these three spirits are responsible for such a feat, for having bequeathed unparalleled works in world literature. It is certain that, sooner or later, there will be a German, an Englishman or an American who will discover them, and then there will be translations, and then there will be recognition of the heights that have already been reached but which have not yet been noticed. Undoubtedly, everything would be easier if the lucky heirs took over the inheritance and took care of its dissemination. But that would be too much to hope for…
Category: Notes
To revisit Carpeaux
To revisit Carpeaux and his History of Western Literature for a little more than a consultation is to return, after half an hour’s reading, with a list of thirty or forty works to read. That is to say: a list sufficient to guide a good few months of study. Really, Carpeaux’s History is unparalleled; it is an inexhaustible source and a faithful companion for a lifetime. It never, ever disappoints; and when we evolve, when we mature and our mind wanders to new places, we can return to it and find treasures that were previously neglected or consciously overlooked, and then conclude that we change, but Carpeaux, despite our change, will always remain at our disposal.
Only Bad News Can Restore Reason
Only bad news can restore reason and put expectations in their proper place… And all the sloppiness, all the boredom and numbness towards existence suddenly dissipate, when circumstances compel the realization that it is from death that the meaning of all things derives, the sense of urgency, the need to do. Then the futile and the important, the true and the false become clear, the reason why one must proceed with firmness and resolution, leaving aside everything that is illusory and deviates from that core without which it would be best not to exist.
Much Less Impressive Is the Impact of Death…
Much less impressive is the impact of death and its countless heralds than the human capacity to live ignoring them all, to live as if the possibility of them suddenly appearing was non-existent. It is truly extraordinary that the bulk of minds spend their entire lives without reflecting for a second on what is perhaps the only existential certainty, and therefore do not even suspect the wide-open fragility of everything. And so, again and again, those who think will have to face the surprise of others with what should in no way surprise them.