A decade later - Fundação Luso-Americana

was,” he admits. Prior to his stay at Ledig
House, he had published two books of
poetry and his popular debut novel Nenhum
olhar, which was printed in the US as The
Implacable order of Things.
Like José Luís Peixoto, Rui Zink and Inês
Pedrosa also had books published in English
after being at Ledig House. “The idea
behind these programs, is to gain a foothold
in the American market, because of
the importance of the English language,”
the head of the DGLB, Ana Castro, explains.
Though it is not the main feature of the
writers-in-residence programs – at least as
far as the personal experiences of the writers
themselves is concerned – the DGLB’s
programs promoting translation of
Portuguese works is also part of the organization’s
drive to disseminate Portuguese
authors abroad. Or at least it used to be.
By October, 2010, the DGLB’s functions
were already severely curtailed after a year
of drastic budget cuts. Things only got
worse in 2011, after the government fell
and the country ground to a standstill.
DGLB programs such as its landmark
“itinerant” program for local libraries,
aimed at encouraging reading, were suspended,
as were the literary residency programs,
despite the increase in applications.
“There was a real upswing in the last two
years,” explains Assunção Mendonça, a
member of the DGLB, who helps process
the applications. “That’s word-of-mouth
in action.”
The year José Luís Peixoto was attending
the Ledig House’s inaugural program, Paulo
Moreiras was coming out with his historical
novel A Demanda de D. Fuas Bragatela, the
precursor to his novel os Dias de Saturno.
Moreiras would be one of the last writers
to receive DGLB backing, like João Tordo,
last year’s Ledig fellow. At the time Moreiras
was working on his still-unpublished third
historical novel set in Portugal during the
Liberal Wars. His stay at Ledig House was
the tipping point for the book. “When I
left, I already had an idea about how the
whole book would go. I’d done the research
and sketched out a bit of the text. At Ledig,
I managed to write several chapters and
flesh them out, which would have been
harder and taken longer otherwise. The fact
that I had so much time to work allowed
me to hone the text I was writing. I’d write,
then always review it. You had time to do
everything. What a blessing!”
Even the writers who put their trust in
that incorporeal entity commonly known
as “inspiration,” know that no book rises
from the dark depths of the drawer to the
heights of public notice without grueling,
cuLTure
“i remember a house, surrounded by beautiful scenery with all the colors of autumn,”
recalls writer José Luís peixoto.
‘ The idea behind these programs,
is to gain a foothold in the American
market, because of the importance
of the english language.
’
Ana castro, DGLB
tiring, exhausting and – let’s admit it –
plodding work. It may not be as stultifying
as a postal worker’s routine but, most
of the time, it’s also not the romantic life
of Lord Byron. But can you get back into
the swing of things when you’re jetlagged,
and in a different room, house,
and, country? It depends on a number of
factors, including the organizational mindset
of the writer and at what stage he is
in the work. Paulo Moreiras had no trouble
getting up at 6 a.m. again, as he always
had in Portugal. “I was always the first
one up; I’d watch the deer walking in the
garden, have breakfast, and watch the sun
rise. At about 7, I’d start to write.
Dinnertime, when we’d all get together
to socialize, was our only commitment.
So I had hours upon hours to work and
polish the text.”
As a writer, David Machado is also persistent
and methodical. “I took the first
chapter of Deixem Falar as
Pedras with me and had a
very concrete idea about
how the rest of the book
would go. I’d get up
between 7 and 8 and
work 8 hours straight
with a short break for
lunch. Every once in a
while I’d take a long walk
over the grounds and in
the surrounding woods.
I didn’t work at night because I don’t like
to.” He was at Ledig House for a month
– the usual time – and it was only around
the fourth week that his enthusiasm started
to wane. “I was most productive at the
beginning. When I got there, I luxuriated
in all the silence; everything was so peaceful
and calm. I felt it and started to work
non-stop. I’m the kind of person who
makes plans like ‘if I write four pages a
day, I’ll have X number of pages a month
from now.’ But it didn’t turn out that way
because the pace changed.”
With the exception of José Luís Peixoto,
who doesn’t believe that writing away
from home is “particularly advantageous,”
all the writers interviewed by Parallel found
that the creative process was enhanced by
the unfamiliarity of their new surroundings.
David Machado was already far into
the creative phase for Deixem Falar as Pedras,
and it was in the house on the Hudson
Parallel no. 6 | FALL | WINTER 2011 75
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