Category Archives: Brazil
The truth and narrative, 3: my life with Roberto Bolaño
1987 I met Gondim in Rio de Janeiro in 1987. He brought me to Morro dos Prazeres, a favela whose name translates into English as “Hill of Pleasures.” We took the streetcar from downtown up to the neighborhood of Santa … Continue reading
Filed under brasil, Brazil, existentialism, fiction, freedom, ideas, life, literature, love, philosophy, truth, writing
The truth and narrative, 2: my life with Julio Cortázar
In the midst of my Greenean visions, fueled from the outset by Pulling’s trip from Buenos Aires to Asunción, I picked up a novel called The Winners at my local bookstore. I was still in college, and I hadn’t met … Continue reading
Filed under art, brasil, Brazil, existentialism, freedom, ideas, life, literature, truth, writing
The truth and narrative, 1: my life with Graham Greene
This is the first of three posts on writers whose work has influenced the course of my own life. The writers are Graham Greene, Julio Cortázar and Roberto Bolaño. In these writers I have seen myself in futures, presents, and … Continue reading
Filed under art, Brazil, freedom, individuality, life, philosophy, postcolonialism, truth, writing, youth
The truth and fearlessness
My God has sent his angel and closed the lions’ mouths so that they have not hurt me. Daniel 6:23 Of those who are fearless, there two kinds: the reckless and the serene. The reckless attract more followers, for they … Continue reading
The truth and amoebas
Your body isn’t your own, exposed for all it really is: permeable, full of holes, part of the world. A floating thing tossed and spit on tumbling water not always clear, you become home to others, little animals here at … Continue reading
The truth and the still
The still photograph is not so still. The photograph asks questions. It suggests a story. It presents an idea in a language without words. It is even as it signifies. Video killed nothing, and the still photograph survives (even as … Continue reading
Filed under art, beauty, Brazil, freedom, ideas, journalism, life, media, Park Slope, philosophy, politics, truth
Tamba-Tajá, 3
Nego and his little brother outside the family’s house in Moju. This the final installment of Tamba-Tajá, the story of a trip to rural Amazonia in 1993. Double-click the photos to see them in original size. ______________________________________________________ We ate our … Continue reading
Tamba-Tajá, 2
This post continues the story of my trip to rural Moju in 1993. Double-click the photos to see them in original size. One more installment of the story is left… ______________________________________________________ Rosângela was Nego’s aunt, and it turned out he … Continue reading
Tamba-Tajá, 1
I’d been introduced to the Tamba-Tajá by Marga, who was a Lutheran minister, human rights activist, and liberation theologist. The bar’s owners were her friends, Iza and Rosângela, who were related by marriage. Iza had been a revolutionary and women’s … Continue reading
E/F – the glass of youth
E. Things that we never would have done had we known better, but that we must live with to the end of our days. F. Wonderful things and great discoveries that never would have happened had we known better. Note: … Continue reading
