A Long Journey Home: Local Meets Global in João Gilberto Noll's Berkeley em Bellagio

When comparing prose and poetry, Joao Gilberto Noll makes use of the fable of the ant and the grasshopper as an analogy to contrast the pragmatism and method of prose with the freedom and lyricism of poetry. Despite writing prose, Noll considers himself a grasshopper, relieved from the "burden...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Luso-Brazilian review 2013-06, Vol.50 (1), p.165-183
Main Author: Rocha Ribeiro, Marília Scaff
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brazil
Crises
Freedom
Pragmatism
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:When comparing prose and poetry, Joao Gilberto Noll makes use of the fable of the ant and the grasshopper as an analogy to contrast the pragmatism and method of prose with the freedom and lyricism of poetry. Despite writing prose, Noll considers himself a grasshopper, relieved from the "burden of action," following instead a more poetic, musical approach in his writing. His conception of the novel is informed by such a practice, and it is not surprising that Noll distances himself from the more traditional and canonical forms of the novel in Brazil. In an interview with Jose Weis, he contends that "o romance nao pode ser so o registro de uma crise da burguesia. Ele tem que ultrapassar um pouco aqueles codigos do Romance de 30. Isso tudo foi da maior importancia. Mas o romance pode cantar como a cigarra. Por que so o poeta pode cantar?" (Noll 1997: 85). Adapted from the source document.
ISSN:0024-7413
1548-9957
DOI:10.1353/lbr.2013.0001