Tag: literature

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…

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.

Another year goes by, and another handful of pages are ready to grow old. It is a pleasure to say goodbye and abandon them, to forget about them, and thus free from the obligation that chains to them. More than that: it is pleasurable to see that habit is now an ally, and the previous uncertainties and oscillations are gone. There is a body that expands, that completes itself; and only by having it permits distancing and better appreciating the recent pages. The excitement has stabilized at a good level, and the future is less worrying than the present. Is just to keep going…

After all, what matters is to look back and smile. It is analyzing the work and judging it, if not good, fair. And to see that the intention was not corrupted, and that we did not run away from what had to be done, and that it was done. If the work done now displeases, if it does not fit in with today, that is also good, because change is good and it is good to learn. All that matters is to look back and smile.