“Writing by Ear”: Clarice Lispector, Machado de Assis, and Guimarães Rosa and the Mimesis of Improvisation

The article proposes that at the core of Brazilian literature pulsates an aural writing elaborated by authors who “write by ear.” To prove this hypotheses, I relate “writing by ear” to two procedures found in Clarice Lispector, Machado de Assis, and Guimarães Rosa’s works: 1) a multiplicity of autho...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCritical studies in improvisation Vol. 7; no. 1
Main Author Librandi Rocha, Marília
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
French
Published Guelph University of Guelph Department of Drama 16.05.2011
Subjects
Acoustics
Improvisation
Literature
Writers
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Summary:The article proposes that at the core of Brazilian literature pulsates an aural writing elaborated by authors who “write by ear.” To prove this hypotheses, I relate “writing by ear” to two procedures found in Clarice Lispector, Machado de Assis, and Guimarães Rosa’s works: 1) a multiplicity of authorial voices—where the author is no longer the one who writes but the one who listens; and 2) a validation of improvisation (effective or pretended) as a method of literary composition. If the above description is valid, I propose that “writing by ear” is a concept potentially useful to understanding literature produced in a culture where orality and musicality predominate.
ISSN:1712-0624
1712-0624
DOI:10.21083/csieci.v7i1.1250