His Own Man (39 page)
Authors: Edgard Telles Ribeiro
I’m off to bed now. So I can wake up early and pick up the papers from Rio at the newsstand. Censorship remains rampant, but even so it’s possible to glean things here and there. They’re pros, our journalists. At least those who still resist … Some manage to convey plenty between the lines, using that tiny space to project deafening screams only a few of us can hear.
Speaking of which, have you been an eyewitness to much in Montevideo? Anything you can tell me about? How many weeks until the coup in Uruguay? And in Chile? Will these two countries shift the uncomfortable attention of the international press away from Brazil? I never find the courage to ask you these questions in person. It’s easier by letter. But don’t feel obliged to respond.
Kisses to dear Marina and sweet little prince Pedro Henrique.
And a brotherly hug to you.
N.
PS:
The FM station that kept me company throughout this letter has started to play “Imagine” again. Ever since the song was composed, the radios seem to play nothing else. All around the world and even secretly in countries where bans are in effect. So much has happened since we first met. From Woodstock to man’s landing on the moon, from feminists burning their bras to the first cries in defense of the environment, from the eternal struggle for human rights to the fatigue of those who cashed in their chips and latched on to this or that system. Today on TV the news reported that the twin towers of New York’s World Trade Center (110 floors each!) have just opened for business. There was also coverage of “the beginning of the end” of the Vietnam War.… How many years of darkness and uncertainty still await us? What explanation (I no longer dare to say “lessons”) will we leave for those who come after us? Will we blame the cold war for the deaths and torture that occurred
on this side
of the Berlin Wall? And when the wall comes down one day, in two or three generations, as it must, won’t its fall reveal an infinite number of others, dividing the planet into not two but two
thousand
sides? Walls, fences.
This side
,
that side
. With so many walls, I sometimes find myself questioning the difference between one side and the other.
That’s when I know it’s time to stop drinking and go to bed!
But to end with “Imagine,” what will the world be like when John Lennon is surrounded by diapered grandchildren and then great-grandchildren? Will we be closer to or farther from his verses then? Will they have lost their relevance? Or will they remain as meaningful and poignant as ever?
I am indebted to Judith Gurewich of Other Press for her remarkable editorial suggestions, which gave this English edition of my novel a smooth narrative flow while further balancing and focusing its content. I am also grateful to my Australian publisher, Henry Rosenbloom, from Scribe, who had his curiosity piqued by a story dealing with a forgotten war in South America — which resulted in the first English publication of a book originally written in Portuguese. Equally heartfelt thanks go to my agent, mentor, and longtime friend Thomas Colchie, to whom I owe much more than these few lines can possibly convey. Elaine Colchie’s editorial expertise also greatly enriched the text. My sincere gratitude to Kim M. Hastings, who faced the many challenges inherent to the translation with imagination and tenacity, added to a rare degree of professionalism and dedication. To my new colleagues at Other Press who shepherded my manuscript through the different stages of production, Yvonne E. Cárdenas, Keenan McCracken, and Cynthia Merman, my deep appreciation. As for my wife, Angelica, love of my life, I wish to say that, as editor of the ten books I have published in Brazil, she has more than paved the way for the literary journey we have covered together in these past two decades.
Edgard Telles Ribeiro
was born in Brazil in 1944 and graduated from the Diplomatic Academy in 1967, when he joined the Brazilian Foreign Service. Prior to that, he was a journalist and film critic writing in Rio de Janeiro. The author of seven novels and three collections of short stories, several of which have won major literary awards in Brazil, he currently lives in New York.
Kim M. Hastings
is a translator and editor based in Connecticut. She lived in São Paulo for several years, studied Brazilian language and literature at Brown University, and holds a PhD in Spanish and Portuguese from Yale. Her translations have appeared in
Words Without Borders
,
Review: Literature and Arts of the Americas
,
Two Lines
, and
Machado de Assis
, among other publications.
