On Thursday, May 30, from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM, the Arabic publication of Clarice Lispector’s Near to the Wild Heart, translated by Safa Jubran, will be celebrated at the Guimarães Rosa Institute in Beirut, located on Mar Mitr Street, Ashrafieh.
To mark the Arabic publication of Near to the Wild Heart by Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector (1920-1977), translated by Safa Jubran, an event will be held at the Guimarães Rosa Institute, Beirut.
Clarice Lispector wrote Near to the Wild Heart in 1943 when she was only 20 years old. It is her first novel and is considered a masterpiece that brought her international fame. With her unique style, Lispector impressed critics who compared her to literary giants such as Virginia Woolf and James Joyce. Born in Ukraine, Lispector moved to Brazil with her family at an early age. She is regarded as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, with a diverse body of work that includes novels, articles, books and children’s books. Near to the Wild Heart is particularly celebrated and is considered one of the best works of Brazilian literature.
The story delves into the inner life of a girl who compares herself to a mature person, navigating between the past and the present. It reflects the journey of a woman through different stages of her life, from childhood to adulthood, always revealing more about her inner life than what she is outwardly supposed to be. This event celebrates the literary brilliance of Clarice Lispector and the artistic contributions of Najah Taher, offering an evening of cultural enrichment and discovery.
The book launch will also feature a display of several watercolors by artist Najah Taher, the designer of the covers for both Clarice Lispector’s novels Living Water and Near to the Wild Heart. The writer and the artist share a poetic kinship, as their works transport us to intimate worlds filled with symbolic creatures and mysterious female characters, portrayed as being both distant and close, and with whom one can deeply relate.
