The Clothesline Swing by Ahmad Danny Ramadan is one of those books that makes me feel privileged just to have gotten the chance to read it. One of the most amazing things about reading (and there are many) is how it allows you to get a glimpse into other people’s lives and places that you … Continue reading #GlobalPRIDELitMonth: The Clothesline Swing, a Gay Syrian Love Story
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Welcome to #GlobalPRIDELitMonth
Photo by Ylanite Koppens on Pexels.com Welcome to #GlobalPrideLitMonth at Global Literature in Libraries Initiative PRIDE month commemorates the Stonewall Riots that took place in June 1969 in New York City. They were a pivotal moment in the fight for LGBT2QIA+ rights in the USA (definitions provided below). PRIDE is now celebrated around the world. … Continue reading Welcome to #GlobalPRIDELitMonth
#WorldKidLitWednesday: And Then the Seed Grew
What's an underground community to do when a perniciously invasive root snakes its way through everyone's routes and roofs? That's the setup for award-winning author-illustrator Marianne Dubuc's latest, a whimsical picture book for ages 3-7, And Then the Seed Grew. Filled with fun details--a blue piano in the corner of one room, a yellow rubber … Continue reading #WorldKidLitWednesday: And Then the Seed Grew
#WorldKidLitWednesday: Along the Tapajós
How about traveling somewhere exciting and new from the comfort and safety of your home? Picture books are a wonderful way for readers of all ages to experience different places, cultures, people and stories. And Along the Tapajós certainly fits the bill. Written and illustrated by Fernando Vilela and translated from the Portuguese by Daniel … Continue reading #WorldKidLitWednesday: Along the Tapajós
A month of Brazilian Literature
In recent years, Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector has been rediscovered in the Anglo-Saxon world. This phenomenon, also described as “Hurricane Clarice” (Benjamin Moser), was the result of the increase in the translations of her works into English. Some of her novels and short stories have been translated several times. Benjamin Moser’s Clarice Lispector biography Why … Continue reading A month of Brazilian Literature
Antonio Candido: Restless intelligence, impeccable integrity
By Luiza Franco Moreira (Binghamton University) A passage from an essay by Antonio Candido on Kafka’s “The Great Wall of China” has come to my mind quite often in the past few years: "The complex organization of the empire, expressed in the immense effort of building a wall, rests on reasons that cannot be known. … Continue reading Antonio Candido: Restless intelligence, impeccable integrity
Children’s Literature in Brazil
(Illustration: A group of famous children's characters of Brazil created by Daniel Azulay who passed away in March due to complications from COVID-19) Children’s literature has an important influence on the formation of collective imagination in Brazil. I will try to summarize in this post some of the highlights of this rich tradition. Clarice Lispector’s … Continue reading Children’s Literature in Brazil
The Signatures and Geographies of Luciany Aparecida
By Sarah Rebecca Kersley Considered by many readers as one of the most exciting emerging contemporary authors in Brazil at the moment, Luciany Aparecida is a writer whose work is increasingly gaining attention for its fresh and experimental style. Each of the different genres in which she writes brings a singular take, via the narratives … Continue reading The Signatures and Geographies of Luciany Aparecida
Why is Graciliano Ramos barely read outside of Brazil?
By Padma Viswanathan Why is Graciliano Ramos not read more widely outside of Brazil?* All educated Brazilians have read at least one of his books and more avid readers will readily name a favorite among his novels. In 1941, a national literary poll in Brazil named him one of the country’s ten greatest novelists—one of … Continue reading Why is Graciliano Ramos barely read outside of Brazil?
#StayHome with Brazilian Literature
Staying home can be an opportunity to discover new literary worlds. Here are some picks from Brazilian literature that are available in English. What are the Blind Men Dreaming by Noemi Jaffe. Noemi Jaffe "Three generations of women reflect, in their own words, on the Holocaust and bearing witness in Jewish and Brazilian identity. In … Continue reading #StayHome with Brazilian Literature
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 