It Was Then That I Lost This Child

Friday, April 22nd at 10am PDT/1pm EDT, tune into the Sant Jordi USA festival of literature and art for Focus on Brazil, featuring translations by Elton Uliana including works by the brilliant writer Carla Bessa. It is my utmost pleasure to read “It Was Then That I Lost That Child.”

A master class of acting by Gigi Guizado.

Elton Uliana, Translator

Asymptote Journal describes the story as “an unforgettable experiment with the short story form. Devised through a verbatim technique, Carla Bessa—actress, director, and winner of Brazil’s most prestigious literary award, the Jabuti Prize—mines the genre for its dramatic possibilities. Bessa’s moving story switches deftly between a confessional monologue with eclectic punctuation that lends the mother’s voice a searing, staccato quality and, on the other hand, a set of intricate stage movements revolving around a domestic scene. The effect is a casual meeting of tragedy and mundanity. Indeed, for translator Elton Uliana, this story conveys “a reality of marginality and crime which is becoming increasingly prevalent in Brazil, particularly with the rise of far-right politics, its contempt for and disenfranchising of the lower classes.” This social commentary is achieved with great formal and emotional intensity in “It Was Then That I Lost That Child.”

Amazing performance by Gigi Guizado of my short story It Was Then That I Lost That Child at the Sant Jordi Festival of Books.

Carla Bessa

And this is only one of several outstanding works by #CarlaBessa and translator Elton Uliana to be explored during the 45 minute presentation. Join us!