Global Voices Online

Brazil: Beyond cyberspace - when blogs move offline

lingua → es · zhs · zht · fr · it

Books are becoming e-books and blogs and websites have appeared as books and other types of media. In this state of flux, it looks like the paper book has the power to beat virtual writing rather than the other way round. In Brazil, there is more than just a fashion of launching e-books to attract readers and writers but also an opposite stream in which blogs have reached the offline shelves as well as the movie screens.

Last November, Para Francisco [pt] enriched the list of blogs that have already made a debut in the publishing market, giving fans a chance to read the powerful real story in paperbook form. Perplexed by the tragic death of her husband just before the birth of their first son, Christina Guerra found herself between mourning and happiness, writing and dedicating her pieces to her son: “For Francisco”. In her blog, she tries to hold each detail frozen in the air, thinking and feeling about life. Plunging deeply into herself, she emerges with a positive perspective.

christina-guerra

Escuro.

Você vai aprender, filho. Que a intensidade pode roubar você de si mesmo. Que é preciso leveza para se pertencer. Você vai aprender a se distrair no meio do caminho – para ter o privilégio de errar. Vai aprender que as descobertas estão nos atalhos. E que é preciso alcançar o escuro denso para estar diante de todas as possibilidades. Você vai aprender a se deitar noite escura e amanhecer ensolarado. E vai entender que na perda mora o verdadeiro começo. Talvez você leve meia vida para isso. Talvez mais, como eu. Mas até lá, olha que sorte: eu vou estar segurando a sua mão.

“Darkness.
You will learn, son. Intensity can steal you from yourself. You need lightness to belong to your own self. You will learn to distract yourself on the way – to have the privilege to make mistakes. You will learn that there are discoveries in the shortcuts. And that you need to reach the dense darkness to be ahead of all possibilities. You will learn to lie down in the dark night and rise in the sunny day. And will understand that it is in loss that truly beginning lies. Perhaps, it will take half your life for you to learn. Perhaps more, like me. But, up to then – look how lucky you are – I’ll be holding your hands”.

Her book – “Para Francisco”, 192 pages, ed. Arx – has had many reviews in newspapers and magazines. She still updates her blog with new pieces of writing swathed in thoughts, happenings and insights.

Another writer who first grabbed the attention of readers through the Internet and then had her book published is Clarah Averbuck. After moving from the southernmost state of Brazil Rio Grande do Sul, where she did not finish her studies but started writing for the web, to São Paulo's capital, she created her first blog in 2001: the very popular brazileira!preta [pt], and the year after Averbuck launched her first novel “Maquina de Pinball” (Editora Conrad, 2002). She has also written “Das Coisas Esquecidas Atrás da Estante” (Editora 7 Letras, 2003) and “Vida de Gato” (Editora Planeta, 2004).

Inspired by her stories, plays and films have been produced in Brazil. Last year, Nome Próprio [pt], a film directed by Murilo Salles was awarded four prizes at the Festival of Gramado [pt], including Best Picture, and Best Actress for Leandra Leal, who plays the main character, the writer Camila.

Averbuck is known for writing in the first person and for including her own experience of life – rock’n'roll, drugs, sex, bars, love and friendship – in her writing. She doesn’t beat about the bush and draws her lines in a very sincere and straightforward way, expressing her feelings; have a look at Adios Lounge [pt]. Her work is very often cited as an example of how blogs have become a place for new talented writers and she as one of the icons of the writers on the blogosphere. Despite this, she has said in an interview: “There are no literary blogs. Writing is writing, it doesn’t matter where”. The public is made aware that either earning money is not her goal or her work is not well rewarded financially, thus she has not even been able to pay her phone bills from her books. About the adaptation of her work for the cinema with “Nome Próprio”, she says [pt]:

“(…) tenho repetido isso quando me perguntam o que achei da adaptação dos livros e tudo mais: autor bom é autor morto. (…)autor morto não reclama nos ouvidos dos diretores e nos microfones dos repórteres quando são adaptados e fica tudo diferente. porque eu reclamo. é claro que eu reclamo. é a minha obra, afinal de contas. (…) mas é assim mesmo. ninguém entende nada, adoram criar umas polêmicas que não existem, pintar o autor de ególatra, de personalidade difícil (rarara, adoro, é tão besta que fica engraçado) e inventar umas coisas por total ausência de outra para falar. eu quero mesmo é achar uma casinha pra morar com a cata e ele e os gatos, terminar meus livros, parar de responder as mesmas perguntas e operar os olhos que essas lentes estão me matando. o resto não tem me interessado muito, francamente.

“(…) I have repeated this when asked what I think of the book’s adaptation and everything else: a good author is a dead author (…). The dead author doesn’t complain in the directors' ears and into reporters’ microphones when they are adapted and everything becomes different. Because I complain, of course I do, it is my work at the end of the day. But, it is like that, nobody understands anything, and they love setting about creating controversy that does not exist, painting the author as a narcissist, a difficult person (hahahah, I love it, it is so silly that it becomes funny) coming up with things due to a total lack of other things to say. What I really want is to find a little house to live in with Cata, him and the cats, finish my books, stop answering the same questions and have my eyes operated on because these contact lenses are killing me, the rest doesn’t interest me much, frankly.”

Her most recent book was Nossa Senhora da Pequena Morte (Editora do Bispo, 2008) and there is an upcoming launch list. Although, it looks like her blog is no longer a priority. The last long post is dated October 25, 2008 where she announces the blog's death, but there was a short comment later: “I’ll never surrender. I love you all”, dated February 02, 2009. She has also commitments with music as the vocalist of the band “Jazzie e os Vendidos”.

Also coming from the rock’n'roll scene, Gustavo Curry has gathered his writings for the web and plucked up the courage to cough up to publish his own book himself. Born in Bahia, he decided to set out writing about living in that state, as a rock musician, a swimmer and journalist. Starting with his blog Eu Tava Aqui Pensando ou Blá Blá Blá [pt], he took one step forward and had his book “Para Colorir” published. Most of the published chronicles have already been made public through the web and the book also has 16 illustrations by the Spanish illustrator Ricardo Sans.

cury1

He talks about the similarity between his book's cover and an R.E.M. CD cover: “Any similarity is barely a coincidence. But, my book came first, fuuuuck”. With a great sense of humour, he has described coming across the famous Brazilian musician who set up one of the most popular and catchy rhythms in the country, Axe Music and other oddities.

When it comes to writing on his blog, it looks like Cury has no plans to give up. He shares with us [pt] his experience leading the business process to have his lines printed and made ready for the reading public:

“O resultado de Para Colorir, considero que foi muito interessante. Acredito que o livro cumpriu boa parte do seu objetivo. Do ponto de vista financeiro, diretamente, o livro se pagou. Fiz 1000, vendi 614 e dei 230. Ainda restam 156. Calculando com o preço médio da venda em 30 reais, recebi R$18.420. Porém tem de calcular que, só no lançamento, dos 180 livros vendidos no evento, 40% da venda ficou com a livraria. Culpa de Jorge Amado que disse “livro tem que ser lançado em livraria”. Que merda, hein, seu Jorge? Se eu fizesse no Póstudo ou no Balcão, bares de amigos meus, seria 100% do lucro”.

“I reckon the result of “Para Colorir” was very interesting. I believe that the book has achieved a good deal of its goals. From the financial point of view, the book has paid for itself. I made 1,000, sold 614 and gave 230 away. There are still 156. Reckoning on the average selling price of 30 Reais, I have received R$ 1,420. Although, it must be taken into account that, just at the book launch, from the 180 books sold at the event, 40% of the money stayed with the bookshop. Blame Jorge Amado, who once said that ‘books must be launched in bookshops'. What shit, heh, Mr. Jorge? If I had done it in Póstudo or in Balcão, bars of friends of mine, I would have had 100% profit”.

However, like Clarah Averbuck, some writers barely post new updates or even stop writing their blogs as the result of becoming so busy with other commitments brought along by the success of their offline work. That was the fate of Mothern [pt], a blog revolving around being a modern day mum: How do we combine the roles of looking after kids and working, when friends and parties are waiting for you? This explains the blog's name, mothern = mother + modern). In a comic and light style, Juliana Sampaio and Laura Guimarães have been praised by their viewers, and published two books – “Mothern - Manual da Mãe Moderna”, ed: Matrix and “As 500 melhores coisas de ser mãe”, ed: Matriz – and launched a TV programme on the channel GNT. Now, those who like their blogs have to read old posts, buy the book or follow the TV series. The last post dates November 19, 2007.

“Sim, estamos sumidíssimas daqui. Eu mais pra cá, Laura mais pra lá, ambas com a agenda e a cabeça cheias de outros assuntos. Esta passadinha rápida é só pra pedir que hoje à noite todos vocês cruzem os dedinhos, pois vai sair o resultado do Emmy International (http://www.iemmys.tv ), do qual a série Mothern é um dos 4 finalistas da categoria série dramática.

“Yes, we have completely disappeared from here. I have been more here, and Laura is over there, both with agendas and minds filled with other matters. I have quickly popped in just to ask you all to cross your fingers tonight, because the result of the Emmy International Awards is soon to be announced, with the “Mothern” series one of the four finalists in the drama series category”.

It seems that blogs, books, series and films are an unlimited source of creativity, but we never know which of them comes first. As we can see, some blogs die after being the seeds for other projects. Or blogs can also work as draft books, as the virtual paper where writers set down the first lines of their thoughts, until the magic has completely cast a spell over the pages. As Deborah Icamiaba wrote on writer Paulo Coelho’s thoughts on e-books, it seems that he has guessed or analyzed the relationship between different pieces of writing: “According to him, the free distribution of e-books actually encourages paper books sales, because readers start reading on their computer and as soon as they become engaged in the story they run to the bookshops to buy them, as they still prefer reading on paper. Whether you like Paulo Coelho or not, the fact is that his sales tips can not be ignored.” Perhaps, being a success on the web means almost a stamped passport to reach the shelves or screens.

Talking about book, check out the Global Voices Book Challenge - Read Your Way Around the World!.

3 comments · read »

Taiwan: Our land and the Statute of Rural Renewal

Portnoy · 08:11 · East Asia

lingua → fr · it

我家門前有小河，後面有山坡，山坡上面野花多，野花紅似火……

“A small river runs in front my door, a hill rises in the back with wild flowers everywhere, as red as fire…”.

The scenery of Taiwan's countryside as simple and stunningly beautiful as depicted by the above popular lullaby will soon be vanished. Small rivers will be replaced by sewage pipes, hills will be flattened, and there will be hundreds, if not thousands, of factories and sumptuous villas rise in the middle of farmland. Of course, there will be potted plant inside the walls of these villas, but there won't be egrets or even sparrows anymore.

On December 18th, 2008, soon after the news that the Economics Committee of Legislative Yuan had examined and passed all articles concerning Rural Renewal Statute through the First Reading procedure, discussions spread through on the Internet. With the promise of pouring 200 billion NTD into rural villages in ten years, the first idea popped up many people's minds is “this is a opportunity for countryside!”, but is it really so? Bloggers and citizen journalists have different answers.

munch quickly wrote “Three minutes to understand the Statute of Rural Renewal” for those who are eager to know the implications of these articles:

第一分鐘！誰來領錢？

……就是同一社區組織，必須先行整合，只能有一份計劃書，如有岐異，就得在地方自行搞定。這樣的限定，大概可以預見傳統樁腳型村里組織和社造理念型團隊組織，大概又是一場爭資源的腥風血雨……

First minute! Who's going to cash in on it?
…Inside a community organization, you have to integrate first, and you can only have one plan; if there is any diversified ideas, handle them yourselves in the local level. This restriction foresees sanguinary slaughters for resources between and inside traditional mighty local organizations and community building ideal-based groups….

第二分鐘！誰最獲益？再來，就到了再生條例的精髓。

……「污水處理、垃圾清理及資源回收設施。」……以再生發展區為名，由地方提報，中央核定，地目重新編定。換句話說，上述污染工業都可能透過區域重劃，成為農村再生的一環。

Second minute! Who's getting the most benefits? You'll see the pith of this statute.
…”Facilities for sewage treatment, garbage cleansing, and resource recycling”…under the disguise of renewal developing area, all applications are to be submitted by local villages, get checked and ratified by central government so as to redefine the land use. In other words, all the heavily-polluting industries can therefore become a part of rural renewal via redefinition of land use.

第三分鐘！置死地而後生？

……一大筆錢，分給有計劃的農村整修門面，其中誰可以拿到錢整修，必須在地方先行角力一番，……生活區由居民玩文化景觀，再生區交政府搞工業建設，沒資本的農民，就一旁看人玩。

Third Minute! Reborn from dead?

…There's a huge amount of money, distributed to villages with plans to decorate their outlook. No matter who gets the money, a fight must be taken in the local first, …local residents will be responsible for the cultural landscape planning in the living areas, while the renewal areas are in the hands of local government to develop industry. Farmers with no capital? You can sit aside and watch.

Cai Pei-hui, a PhD candidate of the Institute of Agriculture Promotion in Taiwan University, summarized the Statute and commented in Coolloud:

1.這是一個土地開發法案。 ……農村再生。反而將因土地炒作，致使農村居民被迫給付高額土地稅金而形成制度壓迫……

2.……台灣的農村發展的最佳模式，應該立基於小農生產，做最大規模的合作產銷，而非重整土地資源……

3.……而再生條例中的在地組織整合，勢將限縮農民組織空間……

1.This is a statute for land exploitation….Renewal of the villages… It will eventually result in a land bidding game, and rural residents will be forced to pay high land tax which leads to a systematic exploitation…

2….The best mode for Taiwan's rural farming villages should base on small peasantry economy, and maximize the scale of cooperative production and marketing, instead of manipulation and exploitation of land resources…

3. ….The part of “integrating local organizations” in the statute will impose restriction on the development of farmer's organizations.

Cai Jian-Fu also commented on the Statute in Dfun, a citizen media focusing on agriculture and rural living experiences:

……台灣現階段的農村工作真正需要的是一個資源整合與問題討論的平台，這個平台必須是跨部會與跨公私部門的……更重要的是，如何使其兼顧弱勢均衡與發展卓越的需求，擺脫政府疊床架屋的組織習性，定期檢視何者該作為而不作為……

…What's truly needed in Taiwan village at present is a platform for discussion and integration of resources. This platform should bridge the private and public sector and different government departments…what's more important is how to address and balance the demand from minority social groups and developmental plan. It is necessary to get rid of the bureaucratic habit in decision making and reflect upon what should be done on a regular base….

Apart from discussing the issue among themselves, concerned citizens also visit local villages and organize town hall meeting with villagers. Citizen media and campaign sites like Todei, Dfun, and Coolloud have detailed reports. On Dfun, a post titled “If you are a son or daughter from a farmer's family…” ignites a lot of discussions, and for the first time, peasants' voices are widely heard in the Internet:

不敢稱農家子弟 Don't call me a son of a farmer's family said in a reply:

……問舅舅知道《農村再生條例》嗎？他說：不知。將條例解說給他聽，他沉默不語。問舅舅現在的桃園農村有什麼地方組織，可以規劃農村建設？他想了很久，回答：農會。又回說：這下，農會總幹事肚子會吃得更撐了。……

…I asked my uncle whether of not he heard of the “Statute of Rural Renewal”. He said:”No”. I then explained him this statute, and he fell into silence. I asked him whether there are local organizations that can make a plan on village construction? He deliberated for a long while, and answered: “Farmer's Association”. And he continued: “Now the pocket of the Secretary in Chief will grow bigger and bigger….”

Professionals also join in the discussion. A letter that expresses “Apology to Next Generation's Architects”, written by an architect Sun De-hong, has been widely spread over the Internet, in which he mentioned:

……如今單單三星鄉一地每年的農舍增加量就已破百，壯圍、五結一帶則是滿目瘡痍，其他鄉鎮更不用講……偏偏「假農舍」帶來的問題不勝枚舉，包含污染農村環境、加速農地碎化、影響農地日照等等……

…Each year, more than 100 new “cottages” are built just in San Xing(三星) village, more are constructed in Zhuang Wei(壯圍) and Wu Jie(五結), not to mention the situation in other villages. The rural landscape is devastating…”fake cottages” have brought a lot of problems, including environmental pollution, farmland fragmentation, sunlight blocking, etc….

greenlost at oikos-taiwan reflects upon the the statute from the perspective of environmental justice and ecological ethics(zh). He questions the whole logic of the debate:

換個角度來想，倘若我們自己是某個農村裡的某個團體、對於農村有著許多改善與改造的想像，但卻苦於資源不足與法令綑綁，我們真的會那麼樣地反對農村再生條例嗎？…我們真的不期待有什麼樣的機會得以做出改變嗎？

From another perspective, if we were in the position of a village organization, and we have a lot of ideas to reform and improve the village, however, due to the lack of resources and the impediments of laws, we could not do anything, are we still going tol oppose the Statute of Rural Renewal?…Aren't we expecting an opportunity to bring changes?

PTS's program “Our Island” has a special coverage on the statute and its possible consequence(zh)：

The dispute is getting hotter when more farmers and villagers are expressing their voices on personal blogs, forums, and citizen media. However, KMT, the ruling party and DPP, the major opposition party, are both pushing the statute into Second Reading procedure in the Legislative Yuan since another round of local election is coming. Very few politicians would give up this opportunity to gain more votes from the election. Moreover, impacted by the global financial crisis, spending more money has become the new political correctness in Taiwan's Governmental dictionary for rescuing the economy.

Unfortunately, on March 26th when a public hearing for this issue was held in the Legislative Yuan in downtown Taipei, farmers and citizen journalists who travelled a long way from southern Taiwan to express their concern toward this expensive and environmentally exploitative statute were forbidden from entering the hall entirely (zh).

Ridiculous? This is Taiwan.

—————————————-

This post is orginally written in Chinese Traditional by Liu Wei-ting at NewStory, edited and rewritten into English by Portnoy.

3 comments · read »