the twelve terrors of christmas

( via El Pais ).

a ilustração é um animal inquieto...

Casa arrumada é assim:

Um lugar organizado, limpo, com espaço livre pra circulação e uma boa entrada de luz.
Mas casa, pra mim, tem que ser casa e não um centro cirúrgico, um cenário de novela.
Tem gente que gasta muito tempo limpando, esterilizando, ajeitando os móveis, afofando as almofadas...
Não, eu prefiro viver numa casa onde eu bato o olho e percebo logo:
Aqui tem vida...
Casa com vida, pra mim, é aquela em que os livros saem das prateleiras e os enfeites brincam de trocar de lugar.
Casa com vida tem fogão gasto pelo uso, pelo abuso das refeições fartas, que chamam todo mundo pra mesa da cozinha.
Sofá sem mancha?
Tapete sem fio puxado?
Mesa sem marca de copo?
Tá na cara que é casa sem festa.
E se o piso não tem arranhão, é porque ali ninguém dança.
Casa com vida, pra mim, tem banheiro com vapor perfumado no meio da tarde.
Tem gaveta de entulho, daquelas que a gente guarda barbante, passaporte e vela de aniversário, tudo junto...
Casa com vida é aquela em que a gente entra e se sente bem-vinda.
A que está sempre pronta pros amigos, filhos, netos, pros vizinhos...
E nos quartos, se possível, tem lençóis revirados por gente que brinca ou namora a qualquer hora do dia.
Casa com vida é aquela que a gente arruma pra ficar com a cara da gente.
Arrume a sua casa todos os dias...
Mas arrume de um jeito que lhe sobre tempo pra viver nela...
E reconhecer nela o seu lugar.
 
Lena Gino

a girl who reads

( my just ordered ) secret garden

  

"Secret Garden is not only a colouring book...", it's wonderful . by the talented Johanna Basford.

guess the story

by Christian Jackson. tites (and more) here. 

 

         You don't have a soul.

You are a soul.            You have a body.

Walter M. Miller, Jr. 
img. Maria Louceiro

shrinking women

Lily Myers, performing for Wesleyan University at the 2013 College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational. 

The poem was awarded "Best Love Poem" .

pele

quanto mais me dispo menos nu me sinto
jorge sousa braga
img. amy friend 

on (alternative) education

um livro infantil....

Um decálogo pensado antes do nascimento da editora Libros Únicos, 
uma espécie de manifesto para fundamentar o seu trabalho, súmula 
perfeita sobre a essência do livro infantil.

foco

Pues lo que importa no es la luz que encendemos día a día, 
sino la que alguna vez apagamos 
para guardar la memoria secreta de la luz

Jorge Teillier, "Los domingos perdidos".
grata a maria josé ferrada
img. elspeth diederix

Varðeldur

anéis

Semear é dar o que Queremos receber.
Querer é obrigar os desejos a fazer ginástica. 

Espreitar é o que fazemos quando os  nossos olhos são maiores que O Mundo. 

mundo é uma bola tão grande que se torna difícil jogar com ela.
Eugénio Roda in O Quê Que Quem (formatação minha); img. Yamamoto

Lil' Red

by cale atkinson

again and again

again and again, however we know the landscape of love
and the little churchyard there, with its sorrowing names,
and the frighteningly silent abyss into which the others
fall: again and again the two of us walk out together
under the ancient trees, lie down again and again among the flowers, 

face to face with the sky.

rainer maria rilke (img. unknowed)

vital voices

vital voices. org

Pós-Graduação em Livro Infantil: nova edição

Outras informações académicas e contactos encontram-se no site da Universidade Católica.

máximos

K V E T A  
p a c o v s k a 


"Gosto de todas as cores mas, sobretudo, gosto de escolher aquelas que produzem um máximo de contraste: o máximo contraste significa máxima beleza, uma espécie de sentimento supremo com uma grande tensão."                                                     

oda a una estrella

Asomando a la noche
en la terraza
de un rascacielos altísimo y amargo
pude tocar la bóveda nocturna
y en un acto de amor extraordinario
me apoderé de una celeste estrella.
Negra estaba la noche
y yo me deslizaba
por la calle
con la estrella robada en el bolsillo.
De cristal tembloroso
parecía
y era
de pronto
como si Ilevara
un paquete de hielo
o una espada de arcángel en el cinto.  
La guardé
temeroso
debajo de la cama
para que no la descubriera nadie,

pero su luz
atravesó
primero
la lana del colchón,
luego
las tejas,
el techo de mi casa.
Incómodos
se hicieron
para mí
los más privados menesteres.
Siempre con esa luz
de astral acetileno
que palpitaba como si quisiera
regresar a la noche,
yo no podía
preocuparme de todos
mis deberes
y así fue que olvidé pagar mis cuentas
y me quedé sin pan ni provisiones.

Mientras tanto, en la calle,
se amotinaban
transeúntes, mundanos
vendedores
atraídos sin duda
por el fulgor insólito
que veían salir de mi ventana.
Entonces
recogí
otra vez mi estrella,
con cuidado
la envolví en mi pañuelo
y enmascarado entre la muchedumbre
pude pasar sin ser reconocido.
Me dirigí al oeste,
al río Verde,
que allí bajo los sauces
es sereno.
Tomé la estrella de la noche fría
y suavemente
la eché sobre las aguas.
Y no me sorprendió
que se alejara
como un pez insoluble
moviendo
en la noche del río
su cuerpo de diamante.

 
Neruda e Elena Odriozola,
num belo livro-poema
da Libros del Zorro Rojo.

essence

img. brian wildsmith

a linguagem das coisas

A chilena maria josé ferrada, ilustrada por pep carrió. 

- obrigada, afonso -

ps. acenda a imagem

fumo (ainda)

OQO 

pygmalion (and hughes)

(...)

So he had made a woman

Lovelier than any living woman.

And when he gazed at her

As if coming awake he fell in love.

His own art amazed him, she was so real.

She might have moved, he thought,

Only her modesty

Her sole garment – invisible,

Woven from the fabric of his dream –

Held her as if slightly ashamed

Of stepping into life.

Then his love

For this woman so palpably a woman

Became his life.

Incessantly now

He caressed her,

Searching for the warmth of living flesh,

His finger-tip whorls filtering out

Every feel of mere ivory.

He kissed her, closing his eyes

To divine an answering kiss of life

In her perfect lips.

And he would not believe

They were after all only ivory.

He spoke to her, he stroked her

Lightly to feel her living aura

Soft as down over her whiteness.

His fingers gripped her hard

To feel flesh yield under the pressure

That half wanted to bruise her

Into a proof of life, and half did not

Want to hurt or mar or least of all

Find her the solid ivory he had made her.

He flattered her.

He brought her love-gifts, knick-knacks,

Speckled shells, gem pebbles,

Little rainbow birds in pretty cages,

Flowers, pendants, drops of amber.

He dressed her

In the fashion of the moment,

Set costly rings on her cold fingers,

Hung pearls in her ears, coiled ropes of pearl

To drape her ivory breasts.

Did any of all this add to her beauty?

Gazing at her adorned, his head ached.

But then he stripped everything off her

And his brain swam, his eyes

Dazzled to contemplate

The greater beauty of her naked beauty.

(...)

in tales from ovid by Ted Hughes 

quanto tempo dura uma relação?

Catarina Sobral e Joana Estrela na exposição "3 meses e 2 dias", um encontro na galeria do Porto, Dama Aflita ( que muito gostávamos, como bem diz João Fazenda, que desaguasse em mais um livro da Catarina ). 
img. Catarina Sobral

visual love

There are two kinds of visual memory: one when you skillfully recreate an image in the laboratory of your mind, with your eyes open (and then I see Annabel in such general terms as: "honey-colored kins," 'thin arms," "brown bobbed hair," "long lashes," "big bright mouth"

and the other when you instantly evoke, with shut eyes on the dark innerside of your eyelids, the objective, absolutely optical replica of a beloved face, a little ghost in natural colors (and this is how I see Lolita).”
 

Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita

4ª feira - 21h

Storytelling is a powerful human drive. We spend our existence living the story of our lives, reshaping and telling it to ourselves and others. We read and write stories to create and remember. We paint and film them, bringing to life the most beautiful and singular details of the human experience. Sometimes, we even cover our bodies with them. But what are stories for? Why do we tell them? Why is storytelling such an integral part of our brains? 

The event will start with presentations by all three speakers above, and will be followed by a set of activities outside the auditorium, including book-crossing, storytelling sessions and interventions by projects involved in storytelling in the field.

Entrance is free and subject to availability.
Live streaming will be available during the event.

via

travessia

"A viagem não começa quando se percorrem distâncias, mas quando se atravessam as nossas fronteiras interiores. A viagem acontece quando acordamos fora do corpo, longe do último lugar onde podemos ter casa."

Mia Couto in O Outro Pé da Sereia

img. Adolfo Serra 

mother's day

( for both of us ♥ )

flying paper

all here.

storytelling

22 de Maio, às 21h, na Fundação Champalimaud.

Conferência Internacional | Valuing Baby and Family Passion

A conferência Internacional "Valuing Baby and Family Passion Towards a Science of Happiness" é organizada pela Fundação Brazelton/Gomes-Pedro Para as Ciências do Bebé e da Família. Acontece nos dias 7 e 8 de Maio, no Auditório 2 da Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian. 

A entrada é livre, mas sujeita a inscrição prévia.

 

seduced by art

  No âmbito da magnifica exposição "Seduced by Art" que tive a sorte de poder ver duas vezes nas suas adaptadas versões (Londres e Barcelona), uma obra em vídeo muito curiosa, com a transformação de uma modelo em Lady Eastlake (1809-1893), escritora e crítica de arte britânica. A intenção foi pois colocar o vídeo junto a uma foto original que os pioneiros do retrato Hill y Adamson fizeram em 1844 desta mulher, no primeiro estudio fotográfico da Escócia. Como refere o jornal espanhol 20 minutos, é uma espécie de máquina do tempo para trás.

XI caminhos de leitura

programa aqui.

phenomenal storytelling

 22 regras para fazer uma história

( baseado nos tweets de Emma Coats, autora de storyboards para a Pixar )

a infografia pode ser comprada impressa ou descarregada em alta resolução aqui 

fonte: huff post books  

#1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.

#2: You gotta keep in mind what's interesting to you as an audience, not what's fun to do as a writer. They can be v. different.

#3: Trying for theme is important, but you won't see what the story is actually about til you're at the end of it. Now rewrite.

#4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.

#5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You'll feel like you're losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.

#6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?

#7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.

#8: Finish your story, let go even if it's not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.

#9: When you're stuck, make a list of what WOULDN'T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.

#10: Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you've got to recognize it before you can use it.

#11: Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you'll never share it with anyone.

#12: Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.

#13: Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it's poison to the audience.

#14: Why must you tell THIS story? What's the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That's the heart of it.

#15: If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.

#16: What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don't succeed? Stack the odds against.

#17: No work is ever wasted. If it's not working, let go and move on - it'll come back around to be useful later.

#18: You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.

#19: Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.

#20: Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d'you rearrange them into what you DO like?

#21: You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can't just write ‘cool'. What would make YOU act that way?

#22: What's the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.

celebrar em laranja

E porque é dia internacional do livro infantil é dia Planeta Tangerina. Bi-vencedor este ano em Bolonha, com o prémio bop e uma menção especial com o livro A Ilha. 
Sempre soubemos que eram vencedores. É muito bom e feliz acontecimento que o mundo inteiro o sublinhe.

O público e o dn contextualizam estas distinções e as páginas da Feira de Bolonha também: bop e opera prima. 
Parabéns a todos nesta editora, para além do mais, feita de gente.
 

real isn't how you are made...

“Real isn't how you are made,' said the Skin Horse. 'It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.'

'Does it hurt?' asked the Rabbit. 'Sometimes,' said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. 'When you are Real you don't mind being hurt.' 

'Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,' he asked, 'or bit by bit?' 

'It doesn't happen all at once,' said the Skin Horse. 'You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.” ― Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit .

This classic book is beautifully read aloud by Xe Sands, here:

beautiful nikki mcclure

to instantly fall in love with this artist:

a generous self-guided tour. worth watching every minute of this long lecture.

from her website:" Her work depicts the virtues of hard labor and patience, which is inherent in her process as well as in the images themselves: weathered hands washing dishes, people sweeping, mothers caring for their babies, and farmers working the land. But there is also a large element of celebration, of taking the time to roll around in the grass and get wet from the early morning dew. The need for all of us to lay down on the ground, grab hold of the earth, look at the stars and dream. She magnifies the importance of simple things, like the change of seasons, slowing down the world for a moment so we can actually taste it."

um amor perfeito

Um livro, poema, jogo. São cubos de brincar ao amor, com as sempre belas ilustrações da Maria João Worm.

Novo em folha, como a flor ( ou como o amor deve ser ). Comprei aqui, a chegar perfeito pelo correio, num dos próximos dias.

les poings sur les îles

 
Um belíssimo filme a partir do livro (aqui, aqui e aqui) escrito por Elise Fontenaille e ilustrado por Violeta Lopiz.
( obrigada ana ventura, tem a tua cara, sim )

identity and subversion in contemporary women artists

Aqui todas as informações.