While it is true that the writer, unlike the public man, does not usually receive the reward of his work in this life, it is also true that he is practically immune to everything that would destroy the career of the latter. Often, the opposite is true, and those traits of conduct or personality that, to a public man, would be a certain scandal, take on an intriguing character. In this sense, the writer is privileged and enjoys the advantage of not having to falsify himself in order to exercise his profession.
Tag: literature
It Is Rather Agonizing to Run Through…
It is rather agonizing to run through the pages of that novelist who, being a good writer, meticulous and serious, cannot rise above the banal. Oh, how unfortunate! We cheer for him, we want to help him, we hope that on the next page the narrative will reach a higher level; but it is no use, nothing comes of it, and in the end we are left to lament. At least we remember that the great writer is great among many, and it is precisely his rarity that makes him special.
One of the Dilemmas Faced by the Modern…
One of the dilemmas faced by the modern novelist stems from the realization that, in many respects, today’s daily life would be incomprehensible to men of the past. When we read stories from five hundred or eight hundred years ago today, we can easily understand the activities, customs and societies of those times, even though the contrasts are obvious. Planting, harvesting, celebrating, sailing, fishing, fermenting, weaving, riding, praying, building, marrying, painting, playing… all of this is very old and very current, making possible countless scenes and entire books whose meaning will never be lost. On the other hand, modern tasks such as “surfing the internet” or simply operating a computer, something on which one makes a career and spends a lifetime, certainly do not have the same timeless quality. The novelist, looking at them, that is, looking at a considerable part of the material of his time, has to decide how much he can use them, and although he knows that to hide them might be to falsify himself, he experiences the impression that, if incomprehensible to the great men of other times, his story will probably be worthless.
In Brazil, Worse Than Noticing the Disappearance…
In Brazil, worse than noticing the disappearance of great authors due to blatant editorial collusion, is noticing the disappearance of those who, without any editorial opposition, disappear from the shelves exclusively due to the pettiness of their heirs. This is unbelievable, especially in a country whose greats are few, and given that the heirs will certainly lose out by clinging to such pettiness. It is infuriating to note that, when the author dies, his work is reduced to something like a pecuniary product, whose function is to generate some money for the “heirs”, when, in fact, the money is minimal, and the true heirs are deprived by law of the real legacy. It’s a tear-jerker!