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Quote by Mia Couto

“está-se escritor, não se é escritor. (...) o caminhar de um leão é uma dança em busca de corpo, o seu olhar foi feito para nos paralisar e nos roubar os sentidos. (...) O escritor faz‑se como todas as pessoas se fazem: olhando o mundo como se fosse pela primeira vez e descobrindo no Tempo algo que pode ainda ser estreado.”

Quote by Mia Couto

Book:Granta Portugal 4: África
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Granta Portugal 4: África

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Author

Mia Couto
Mia Couto

Mia Couto is a Portuguese writer known for his rich literary works and unique narrative style. His works cover various literary forms such as novels, poetry, and prose, and have won the hearts of readers worldwide. more

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“- Mas você não consegue escrever coisas compridas! Isso que faz é uma miséria. - Coisas compridas como? _ Bem, romances, crónicas autênticas, ensaios sólidos. - Não, isso não sou capaz. - Então vocês não é um escritor. - Pois não. Quem se atreveu a chamar-me tal coisa? - aí é que me ia encanzinando. - Não é ofensa, desculpa. Mas uma coisa comprida, por favor, não arranja? - Olhe, o mais comprido que tenho é isto. E já foi difícil. Quando as coisas vão a ficar maiores, deito logo fora. Compreende, não é?”

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“If you are writing for an educated audience and, to take an example, you use the phrase mutatis mutandis, you are not showing off—you are communicating. You are using words to do what words are supposed to do. It reminds me of the time that someone complained to William F. Buckley about all the unusual words that he would employ. His reply was that the words were not unusual to him. Words are there for a reason, and foreign phrases can often do the trick that more homey phrases cannot. But if you are blogging about your adventures as a shopping mom, and you write about your purchase of a 48-pack of corn dogs at Costco, and you describe them as de provenance étrangère, it had better be a joke. Unusual words or phrases (foreign and domestic) are a barrier to understanding, unless the point is to communicate to the reader that you know something they don't. Then they understand what you are doing quite well.”

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Book:Wordsmithy: Hot Tips for the Writing Life
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“I revere a kind of sanctity in language and that reverence stands in place of an aesthetic. I wouldn't even make the case that I'm a writer; it's just what I put in the field if someone asks. It's easier than saying what I actually am, which is best expressed as what I actually do, which functionally a kind of worship. I think there are configurations of words that have power. I think they can be arranged in such a way as to modify the operation of the mind. I'm not even saying I succeed at this. I'm saying that seeking these configurations is the only thing I know how to do.”

LogophileLogophiliaNailed ItStrange Kinship Of Uneasy Minds
Author:Jerry Holkins
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