João Guimarães Rosa (1908-1967)
The noted author of the acclaimed Grande Sertão: Veredas was one of several Brazilian authors to appear in English translation thanks to Alfred Knopf, the famed New York publisher. It was through the good offices of the latter that I got to meet this author.
I had developed an acquaintance with Knopf because I had published an article criticizing one of Knopf’s published books by a Brazilian. Knopf, who kept a critical eye on such offenses, decided I knew what I was talking about, and put me on the approved list for his group luncheon at the annual American Historical Association convention.
Because of that connection he contacted me when we were back in Rio. He had come south to marry a new wife. He had lost his former wife, Blanche, some years earlier. She had been a great helpmate in his publishing venture.
Knopf had fallen in love with Brazil because of the outstanding authors from there whom he had introduced to English-speaking readers. So he wanted to bring his soon-to-be bride to Rio.
My wife and I received an invitation to the wedding ceremony, which was to be held in the fanciest country club in Ipanema. We arrived early and the only other person in the foyer was J. G. Rosa. I recognized him, introduced him to my wife, Felicity, and we had a wonderful conversation before the nuptials.
Another taste of the SERTÃO.
Further Readings
Rosa, João Guimarães. The Third Bank of the River and Other Stories. New York: Knopf, 1968.
Rosa, João Guimarães. The Jaguar and other stories. Translated by David Treece. Oxford, UK: Boulevard, 2001.
Rosa, João Guimarães. Grande sertão: veredas. 6th ed. Rio de Janeiro: Livraria J. Olympio Editora, 1968.
João Guimarães Rosa was born in Cordisburgo, Minas Gerais. He first pursued a career in medicine and volunteered his skills as a doctor in the Constitutionalist Revolution of 1932. He also served as a Brazilian diplomat and acted as assistant-consul in Germany in 1938. In 1956, he published Grande sertão: veredas, a literary masterpiece that cemented his status as a prestigious novelist. In 1967, he became a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters.