Cata Joseph

“O Mumbungo queria à sua mulher, a Mula-Marmela, e, contudo, incertamente, ela o amedrontava. Do temor que não se sabe. Talvez pressentisse que só ela seria capaz de destruí-lo, de cortar, com um ato de 'não', sua existência doidamente celerada. Talvez adivinhasse que em suas mãos, dela, estivesse já decretado e pronto o seu fim”
― João Guimarães Rosa, Primeiras Estórias

“And the reason I am so nervous is that everything I do now is leading me to one of three possible futures... Which one will it be? Time alone will tell. But still I know that writing this diary can perhaps provide the answer; it may even help produce the right future.”
― Adolfo Bioy Casares, The Invention of Morel

“O senhor sabe: sertão é onde manda quem é forte, com as astúcias. Deus mesmo, quando vier, que venha armado! E bala é um pedacinhozinho de metal...”
― João Guimarães Rosa, Grande Sertão: Veredas

“When I suddenly see myself in the depths of the mirror, I take fright. I can scarcely believe that I have limits, that I am outlined and defined. I feel myself to be dispersed in the atmosphere, thinking inside other creatures, living inside things beyond myself. When I suddenly see myself in the mirror, I am not startled because I find myself ugly or beautiful. I discover, in fact, that I possess another quality. When I haven't looked at myself for some time, I almost forget that I am human, I tend to forget my past, and I find myself with the same deliverance from purpose and conscience as something that is barely alive. I am also surprised to find as I gaze into the pale mirror with open eyes that there is so much in me beyond what is known, so much that remains ever silent.”
― Clarice Lispector, Near to the Wild Heart