It takes some effort to break through the surface and appreciate the depth of Teixeira de Pascoaes’ artistic motivation. On the surface, words are always words, and poetry is nothing more than idealization. But if we ask ourselves: “What is behind the words? What kind of experience motivated them?”—with some effort, something reveals itself, and this something, in Teixeira de Pascoaes, is beautiful and sincere. But it is hard to experience it, since selfishness is constantly working to destroy it. Connecting the past to the present and, above all, looking at it and the whole of existence with benevolent eyes, is something that only a great spirit can do.
Tag: literature
It Is Really a Miracle That Which…
It is really a miracle that which is often observed in the construction of poems, when sometimes a single word is changed, this or that edge is trimmed, and a dull, repetitive, banal whole changes character as if completely, and the expression, previously frustrated, finally seems to satisfy the initial intention. The lesson of this experience is that the poet must continue at times when the creation is unsatisfactory, he must strive to give the poem at least a cohesive structure, a fundamental structure so that the brilliant and sometimes unexpected details can stand out.
Good Literature Always Has…
Good literature always has an instructive character, even if it is veiled, which allows the reader to grow through reading. That is why it is good for the writer to ask how much a hypothetical reader would gain from reading what he intends to write: depending on the answer, perhaps it would be better to look for other ideas, more convincing, more realistic, less selfish and more individual. Because this is exactly what becomes evident when this exercise is practiced: the best ideas, the ones that will most easily add something to the reader’s experience, are those that are more particular, those that are more intensely lived and more deeply assimilated. In short: one can only teach well what one knows well.
Literature Is a Hard Occupation
Literature is a hard occupation because, in general, its results are not tangible. That is why, in the face of a “practical occupation”, it seems entirely pointless. And even if that is not the case, that is how it seems to the writer who works at it every day, in otherwords, the routine of invisible creation gives rise to a feeling of uselessness that is difficult to master, a feeling that is made much worse by the palpable reality that the newly created work has no effect on anyone, stimulates anyone, and is often not even noticed by anyone. But here lies the brilliant paradox: the more useless literature seems, the more authentic it is. And the great writer completes himself by overcoming appearances and leaving his example of overcoming them as a legacy.