Last week I was taking some pictures of an old part of Campinas downtown, some centenary two story homes from a time when many lived downtown. Now, all turned into some sorts of business places. On Saturdays early mornings one may be transported a hundred years back into the past… “hey, look that guy on the horse buggy down the street! Oh wait no, it is just a VW beetle.”
Past Lusitana St., I go across Cesar Bierrenbach St. towards Dr. Quirino st.. From the corner there I can see Pontes’ bookstore. Let me visit Reinaldo and his Sister Eva, I thought to myself. They are probably there, its Saturday, they are open until at least noon some times until later. What a great joyful coincidence, from my beloved Morungaba – a city 40 km away from Campinas – I met Aercio Consolin.
Interviews with Aercio Consolin, Brazilian writer
- Hi Aercio, how’ve been? What are you doing here? So and so…
Guess what, he was there sign up his newly released book “Entreato Amoroso” [freely translated: Loving Interact, the name is a play on words in Portuguese that goes like “interval of loving” ] This is his 6th book, but he’s got many article and sort stories published too. Aercio has one book, which is a collection of four sort stories, translated into French sold in Europe – one of those stories became a movie here in Brazil.
“Entreato Amoroso” by Ateliê Editorial www.atelie.com.br [1] comes after some 18 years silence of the author; it is very good. I wish you all could read Portuguese so you could enjoy it as I did already. Now, to read Aercio you need very good Portuguese, I confess I had to go to the dictionary a couple of times. Aercio is original, sharp, hermetic. As one reads one can tell, every word was measured, is essential, is meaningful. Put in plain Portuguese a single paragraph will sure become a whole page.
But why Am I saying all this, you may inquirer me. Well, I just want to introduce Aercio Consolin very well to you. I interviewed him on some facts about Brazilian literary reality. I wanted you to know his is a very qualified person to share with us really valuable information, information worth your time reading this piece.
Maybe those of you who know French will consider reading “Iolanda et Autres Nouvelles” published by HB Editions to check his stile for yourselves. I recommend.
- Aercio, what is it like to be a writer in Brazil?
- I am not a professional writer; I write because I like it, I need it. Literature is inside me, it is part of my life and that is my perspective. So for me the literary market is not a major concern. But for the professional writer, I can say, life is not so easy in Brazil.
- Why is that so?
- A small percentage of our population has reading habits at all. Even literate people read very little of what we could call real literature. The biggest numbers of readers are of the functional literate people type – they can read for their day to day needs, yes, but won’t dream touching a novel – for example.
- What do they read?
- There is a large market share for self-help, religious and exoteric books, that is what they read mainly – when they do.
- So does it pay to write in Portuguese?
- Not at all, writes live from writing but not writing only books. They write to magazines, newspapers, specialized publications, theses, short stories and articles about literature.
- How about you?
- I write short stories and novels, but sometimes I am asked to write on a subject for some newspaper and I do. But as I said before I can afford writing for pleasure.
- What do you like to write about?
- The Brazilian aesthetics pattern have for long been mainly focused on the northeast of Brazil misery and the violence of urban areas like those of Sao Paulo, Rio and other major cities of the country - and see, not even there, in those contexts, poverty and violence are the only realities. To think like that is too narrow.
So, I focus my writing on other targets: I prefer the small communities of the inland of Brazil, specially of Sao Paulo, close to me, real microcosmus that synthesizes all human emotions as well. They are also real players in the whole picture of the country – unfortunately often forgotten.
- What is the percentage of illiterate people in Brazil?
- It is something like 15% of the total population.
- How about functional literate ones?
- That will amount to much more, something like 60% of the total population or more… Carlos, as I see it, there are, if much, 1 or 2% of Brazilians really interested in literature in the whole country, when you think that that would amounts to some 3,5 million people only when I say 1 or 2 % I am actually being generous.
- What is the solution for this?
- Education. The Brazilian government needs to invest more and more on basic education, preparation for the teachers, methodology, materials, etc. And also support for the written culture, which is just one cultural segment – I know - but it is left alone today. Go and check, for example, the number of existing public libraries - it is a shame – specially when you cross check with the population statistics, not the least compatible.
- What else would you say on that matter?
- It is incredible, the editorial production in Brazil is amazing, enormous, but its quality is questionable.
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- Aercio, taking into account that this interview is for an international media information service what would your final words be?
- Well, that is interesting you remind me… You know, there is a lot of money coming from abroad to help Brazil. Money for saving the forests, money for the poor, money for ecological projects and the like of this. I’d say it is all welcome, those are real needs many times, but for sure it would be very good to think it all over and invest in education, at least a good cut of all that money.
Educated people will know how to take care of the forest, of social problems and will be ecologically concerned already, so that kind investment, investing a person’s education, really pays off.
- Thank you very much.