I am very happy to start, here in the blog, the “Abre Aspas” [Quote] section. It will be a space for interviews with some people I admire and who inspire me.
In fact, I don’t know if I can define as interview because I decided to challenge myself to make a single question, THE QUESTION.
Besides living at a time that values brevity, I believe that thinking about a single question is also an exercise about reaching the essential. In this case, reaching what I would like to know most about the creative process, career, reflections on the work and life of my guest.
And look how wonderful! The first person to whom I presented this idea and invited to start this section was Julia Medeiros, and she kindly accepted the challenge.
Julia is a writer, actress and cultural manager, and her first book, A Avó Amarela (2018), [The Yellow Grandmother], debuted in great style, already winning many awards, Prêmio Jabuti (Children’s Book 2019) being one of them. The work was also selected for the “White Ravens” catalog of the International Youth Library in Munich (Internationale Jugendbibliothek) and Julia (@juliamedeiros) keeps talking about this wonderful work in live sessions in this quarantine period. It is really worth it to listen to her and read the book. It is very sensitive just like her, and beautiful!
We met when she was already part of Ponto de Partida [Starting Point], a theater group in which she acted for 16 years. This was some time ago, but recently I had the pleasure of partnering with them to perform two celebratory shows for the 10th and 15th anniversaries of Árvore da Vida [Tree of Life] show, which is under my management at FCA – Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, the company I work for.
To organize a show is a unique experience, even more to people who, like me, have never followed this process. In these two experiences, I had the pleasure to interact with very special people and with all the kindness of my guest!
And “the question” originated from my curiosity about affective memory and creative processes. In this brief chat, she talked about building a literary look to life.
What is the place of affection and heritage in your creative process?
Julia Medeiros. was awakened to literature from a very early age, during my childhood, and I believe that since then I have developed more than the taste for writing, a literary look to life. I have always noticed in people, when building, the way with which people build their own lexicon, depending on the time, place, cultural and family references, on the professional choices, the emotions they carry. I would say that, in the same way there are bird watchers, there are language watchers, and I am one of those. From the gesture, the rhythm, the pause, the way of walking, laughing hard, the way to set the table, doing their nails, forget the keys, everything is available to be read. It is unavoidable to look for these traces in me or in my own. So, I think that the place of affections and heritage in my writing is in the search for the traces of my existence, of what builds my language. And perhaps in the desire to treasure it.
Publishing this interview in July 2020 has a special meaning. We celebrate 30 years of the Children and Youth Charter, and Julia’s work reminds us of childhood. A treasured childhood, which inspired the book and several characters.
The access to culture is a fundamental right guaranteed to all and essential to how the child relates to the world.
Thank you, Julia, for your work and I wish that our children may have a colorful childhood, and that affection may inspire the path of each one of them.
Credit
Highlight photo: Estúdio WTF
Content photo: Pablo Bertola