São Paulo – This month, the Brazil-Lebanon Cultural Center in Beirut launched the project Oficina da Palavra (Workshop of the Word), devoted to fostering literary production in Portuguese language among Lebanese people who are advanced speakers of the language. The project is the brainchild of Renata Vieira, the center’s educational coordinator.
“She brings up a subject matter and people write freely. The workshop places total emphasis on literary creation, and it opens up new vistas for those who have mastered the Portuguese language,” says the center’s director Najua Bazzi.
The classes began on the 13th and will take place on Tuesdays from 5pm to 8pm. Lessons start in a classroom and then move to the center’s patio, and the vibe is relaxed. “The lessons start out in the classroom to stir the students’ brains. After that, they come out and begin producing,” Bazzi explains.
According to Bazzi, the first class in the workshop was based around texts by [Brazilian writer] Machado de Assis, besides introducing elements from literary production theory. The second class used excerpts from the Portuguese writer José Saramago’s Blindness.
At each new meeting, the teacher presents some theory, the students work on their texts, and then their production is discussed by the class. “The idea is to have them write freely, to demystify the idea that only writers can do it. She takes a light-hearted approach to structuring out a literary text,” the director explains.
Students are also encouraged to write under pseudonyms. “They’re invited to leave texts signed with pseudonyms at the reception to be read and discussed during class,” she says.
Each of the project’s cycle will comprise 12 meetings. At the end of each cycle, new students will be allowed to enroll. Enrolment for this first cycle is still open and ends next week. Each class will comprise up to 10 students.
Brazil-Lebanon Cultural Center
Oficina da Palavra project
Targeting advanced Portuguese language students
Price: USD 200
Website: http://brasiliban.itamaraty.gov.br/pt-br/
Phone: +961 1 322 905
Email: brasiliban@itamaraty.gov.br
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
