{"id":419483,"date":"2026-11-04T16:18:38","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T19:18:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/?p=419483"},"modified":"2026-11-04T16:18:48","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T19:18:48","slug":"marcelo-maluf-releases-first-poetry-collection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/marcelo-maluf-releases-first-poetry-collection\/","title":{"rendered":"Marcelo Maluf releases first poetry collection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 Arab-descendant and one of the emerging voices in Brazilian literature, Marcelo Maluf released his first poetry collection last month. The S\u00e3o Paulo-born writer, who won the S\u00e3o Paulo Literature Prize and was a finalist for the Jabuti Prize with a novel inspired by his Lebanese family history, now explores a new literary path with the publication of O livro mistico das coisas ordin\u00e1rias <\/em>[The Mystical Book of Ordinary Things], released by Curitiba-based publisher Arte & Letra<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The poems were written over the years and remained unpublished until Maluf identified a common thread running through most of them: his own spiritual quest, shaped by different religious traditions and experiences with the sacred. Raised in a Catholic family, the writer explored, among other traditions, Zen and Tibetan Buddhism and Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam, through which he discovered the poetry of renowned Muslim poet Rumi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese poems stem from this experience, which was more intellectual than practical,\u201d he says of the spiritual quest that underpins the book. \u201cI drew from all sources,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"After
After publishing more than 20 books, Marcelo Maluf makes his poetry debut<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Marcelo Maluf<\/a>\u2019s poetry invites readers to see the sacred in life\u2019s smallest details, much as he sees in great spiritual masters who shunned grandeur, luxury and power. This focus on the small things inspired the book\u2019s title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOrdinary means common, everyday. The entire book deals with things that most of us do not consider sacred. I argue that the sacred is found in everyday life, in ordinary things. The sacred is washing the dishes\u2014it is in these moments. You don\u2019t need to seek the sacred in transcendence,\u201d the writer explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI seek God in the smallest things, in the little bits, in the corroded. The other day, I found him transformed into a moth, devouring the Book of Job,\u201d reads a passage from one of the poems. Another poem reads: \u201cI revere this glass that holds the water I drink and its willingness to serve and repeat its function every day.\u201d In another piece, we read: \u201cI am a mystical onion and make men with knives in their hands cry. I am without time, without body, without soul. I do not worry about Galliano or the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and I know nothing about eternity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the book\u2019s afterword, Brazilian writer and literary critic Mariana Ianelli places Marcelo Maluf\u2019s work in opposition to literature centered on the self and describes it as an embrace of the anonymous and the homeless, referring to the attention given to others in his writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe living, aching life, as miserable as it is majestic in its nakedness (of body and soul), which Maluf loves and embraces in these pages, also contains a silence greater than words. A silence filled only with the murmuring of rivers and winds,\u201d Ianelli writes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marcelo Maluf describes himself as an occasional poet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have always written little poetry, but ever since I started writing, poetry has always been with me, both as a reader and as a writer,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The poems had been sitting in a drawer, the last one written about 10 years ago, by the writer\u2019s estimate. About four years ago, Maluf decided to bring his poetry together and realized the poems fit. He reread them all, reworked some, put them in order and told an editor at boutique publisher Arte & Letra about them in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For what remains the only poetry collection in his body of work, which comprises five books for adults\u2014novels and short stories\u2014and 18 children\u2019s and young adult books, Maluf took a distinctive approach by choosing the publisher. Arte & Letra produces the book by hand using a traditional printing press, with a hardcover and numbered copies. Copies one, two and three, for example, are in Maluf\u2019s own possession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wanted a beautiful edition. I wanted something special,\u201d he says. The book is available for purchase online and at brick-and-mortar bookstores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grandson and writer<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Marcelo Maluf has been publishing books since 2008. He made his publishing debut with children\u2019s and young adult literature, but it was his 2015 novel A imensid\u00e3o \u00edntima dos carneiros <\/em>that brought him national recognition. In addition to winning the S\u00e3o Paulo Literature Prize in 2016, the book was a finalist for the Jabuti, Brazil\u2019s most prestigious literary award, that same year. The novel was inspired by the story of his Lebanese grandfather, who moved to Brazil after his brothers were killed by the Ottoman Empire in Lebanon. The revelation of this family secret prompted Maluf to write the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The writer is of Syrian and Lebanese descent and published another novel inspired by his Arab family history in 2023, Os \u00faltimos dias de Elias Ghandour<\/em>. The plot revolves around the life of a Syrian-descendant merchant who owns a fabric store on 25 de Mar\u00e7o Street in S\u00e3o Paulo and reflects on the dreams he never fulfilled. The entire book is narrated from a stage, as if Ghandour were speaking to an audience, in an attempt by the author to give his ancestor one final moment in the spotlight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a degree in Art Education and a master\u2019s in arts, both from S\u00e3o Paulo State University (Unesp), Maluf works as a creative writing instructor in addition to writing books. He teaches workshops and courses at educational institutions and organizations, as well as independently. He also gives lectures and leads reading groups. Born in Santa B\u00e1rbara d\u2019Oeste, Marcelo now lives in S\u00e3o Paulo and is married to Daniela Pinotti, with whom he has co-written some of his children\u2019s and young adult books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Book details<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Title: O livro m\u00edstico das coisas ordin\u00e1rias<\/em>
Author: Marcelo Maluf
Publisher: Arte & Letra
Pages: 76
ISBN: 9788571620391
Proce: BRL 62 (Arte & Letra website<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read also<\/em>:
The creative immensity of Brazilian writer Marcelo Maluf<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Translated by Guilherme Miranda<\/strong><\/p>\n

Supplied<\/div>
Reproduction<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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