Clarice Lispector: Visions of Splendor

Acclaimed by critics and a popular phenomenon on the internet, Clarice Lispector is considered, internationally, one of the great names in 20^th century literature. Mysterious, obscure, revealing, experimental, strangely mystical, or philosophical – how to define the writing of the author of The Hour of the Star? This podcast, conceived and presented by Bruno Cosentino and Eucanaã Ferraz, covers Clarice’s life and work in five episodes, in which they talk to great specialists, professors, and researchers.

Listen on Rádio Batuta or on the main players: Spotify, Apple, Deezer etc.

Episodes

Episode 1 – “Their insides.”

In this first episode, we will talk about Clarice Lispector’s arrival in Brazil, when she was still a toddler, accompanied by her family; her move from Recife, the city where she spent her childhood, to Rio de Janeiro; her studies at Law School; her first professional experiences; her marriage; and her first three published books: Near to the Wild Heart, The Chandelier, and The Besieged City.
Guests: Nádia Gotlib and Regina Pontieri.

Episode 2 – “To leave one’s former body on the ground”

In this second episode, we will deal with the period in which Clarice Lispector, separated from Mauri Gurgel Valente – and after 15 years outside Brazil –, went back to living in Rio de Janeiro, with her children. After more than a decade without publishing, Clarice released two books that had been written during her stay abroad: the novel The Apple in the Dark and the book of short stories Family Ties.
Guests: Yudith Rosenbaum and José Miguel Wisnik.

Episode 3 – “I was born charged with the task.”

In this third episode, we will deal with the period in which Clarice Lispector, already separated from Mauri Gurgel Valente and back in Rio de Janeiro, living in the Leme neighborhood, returned to collaborating with the press, writing chronicles for the Jornal do Brasil and doing interviews for her column in the Manchete magazine. Also at that time, she released the books An Apprenticeship or The Book of Pleasures and Covert Joy.
Guests: Flavia Trocoli and Evando Nascimento.

Episode 4 – “The thing in itself.”

In this fourth episode, we will focus on the period in which Clarice Lispector wrote a book that was as brief as it was disturbing: Água Viva. It was also during this period that Clarice published two collections of short stories, both in 1974: “The Via Crucis of the Body” and “Where You Were at Night.” The following year, the author participated in the First World Congress of Witchcraft, in Colombia, where she read the magnificent “The Egg and the Chicken.”
Guests: Carlos Mendes de Sousa and João Camillo Penna.

Episode 5 – “It’s strawberry season.”

In this fifth episode, we will talk about the final years of Clarice Lispector, with emphasis on her last book, The Hour of the Star, and the manuscripts for A Breath of Life, which was published posthumously. We will also address her forays into children’s literature in memoirs, which were published in the short story collection Covert Joy, and in a number of books eventually compiled as Quase de verdade e outros contos [released in English as The Woman Who Killed the Fish], which includes the tales “The Woman Who Killed the Fish,” “The Mystery of the Thinking Rabbit,” “Almost True,” “Laura’s Intimate Life,” and “Como nasceram as estrelas” [How the Stars Were Born]. Guests: Teresa Montero and Sônia Roncador.