João Martins: Creando nuevos significados y nuevas formas - Entrevista

Publicado el 11 de enero de 2015.

Por Millicent Borges AccardiColaborador

Nacido y criado en Manteigas, Portugal continental, el poeta y escultor João Martins se licenció en Teología en la Universidad Católica de Lisboa, donde se dedicó a la enseñanza y la educación. Su padre era artista y Martins se crió para valorar tanto la palabra escrita como las artes visuales.

En 1986, llegó a los Estados Unidos para una visita de un mes y terminó mudándose a Nueva Jersey con su familia. Ganador del premio del jurado Casa de Cortés - Leiria, las influencias literarias de Martins incluyen a Ruy Belo, Pablo Neruda, José Luis Peixoto, Ted Koser y Carlos Drumond Andrade.Ha publicado siete libros: Ejercicio de Pintura (poesía); A Estrelinha da Serra(cuentos cortos); Cânticos Paralelos (poesía); Intervalo das Palavras (poesía); Quando toda a Esperança é Azul (biografía); O Seu Nombre Era María (poema ilustrado); y Mãos Verdadeiras

(poesía).

Un grupo de esculturas de libros de João Martins.

Un grupo de esculturas de libros de João Martins. Miembro de la Sociedad de Escritores Portugueses y fundador de ProVerbo, el brazo cultural del Club Deportivo Portugués de Newark, Nueva Jersey, Martins organiza galas culturales, eventos literarios y otras actividades del club. Prensa Boavista publicó recientemente su libro de poesía bilingüe, ‎Quando Menino Eu Lia – Leía de niño

(Octubre, 2014). En esta entrevista paraRevista Portuguesa Americana

Martins analiza la poesía, su herencia portuguesa y sus tallas de madera de manos y libros.

Se mudó con su familia a los EE. UU. en 1986 después de unas vacaciones, ¿por qué decidió quedarse?

Vinimos para una boda familiar y disfrutamos de unas vacaciones de tres meses en los Estados Unidos. Anticipando futuras oportunidades para los niños, nuevas perspectivas, desafíos, decidimos quedarnos. Pero siempre hemos mantenido estrechos lazos con la familia en el extranjero.

Ha escrito un poema donde describe su relación con el ser portugués. ¿Te importaría compartirlo con los lectores de PAJ?

"inglés chapurreado"Mi mano

. Escultura en madera de Joao Martins.
"Mi propia mano".

Escultura en madera de João Martins.
mi habla y mi acento pueden estar rotos
Mis sueños están intactos.
aunque los sueños se pueden soñar en cualquier idioma
es más fácil soñar
con las palabras que aprendimos
con leche materna y sueños

tan universal como un corazón
en casa soñamos y hablamos polifonicamente
en el idioma de mi niñez le enseñé a mis hijos
(y aquí apoyándonos en los lazos de distancia y tiempo)
en su idioma aprendí
los nuevos colores de los sueños
y palabra por palabra, sueño por sueño

"y con las palabras del corazón"Libro con muchas historias.

. Escultura en madera de João Martins.
"Libro con muchas historias".

Escultura en madera de João Martins.
en lugar de lazos rotos

tenemos los brazos atados
desde el momento en que los sentimientos permanecieron
de raíces de otros tiempos
y los sueños unieron las raíces al fruto y al futuro
este mismo futuro es como un libro
ahora con nuevas paginas, nuevas palabras

nuevos sueños compartidos.
viejas palabras se seguirán utilizando
y emociones eternas
para construir los sueños del mañana
como ayer y más allá
el lenguaje y las palabras

relacionando los corazones. Para nuestros lectores, ¿puede describir el tema de su último libro?

Quando Menino Eu Lia…– ¿Leo de niño? Una fascinación y un amor por las palabras... El libro trata sobre lamenino , el niño, que ha vivido dentro de mí desde que era un niño, desde mi adolescencia cuando leía los libros que tomaba prestados del libro móvil. En cierto sentido, algunas citas autobiográficas me encaminaban dentro de la escritura, reflexionándolas a distancia. Y el menino

sigue buscando el significado de las palabras, tratando de darles sentido, nuevos significados, nuevos sentidos. ¿Cuál es el significado del título?leía de niño

?

De niño, leía todo lo que se cruzaba en mi camino: historia, cuentos para niños pequeños, todos los libros que podía llevar a casa de la biblioteca móvil, un máximo de seis, creo, que leía debajo de la manta en noche con una linterna para no molestar a mis padres y hermanos.

Estaba ansiosa por aprender todo, literalmente, leyendo periódicos deportivos, libros religiosos, cuentos, libros de la biblioteca... Luego descubrí el vocabulario de los adultos, y todo este proceso de convertirse en adulto, recuerdos de una edad temprana, hacia la desarrollo natural de aprender nuevas palabras, descubrir nuevos mundos.

¿Puedes compartir un extracto del libro?

Los primeros versos al comienzo del libro establecen el concepto y la historia se desarrolla:
leía de niño...
Libros para niños en libros para niños.

palabras con cuentos de niñosJM_foto_11
de niño tenía prisa
caminar aprender a correr
leer y hacer muchas otras
cosas que los mayores se reservan para sí mismos.
Fui de sueño en sueño
avanzando poco a poco de un pequeño paso a un pequeño paso
tan grande como la edad

tarde en llegar
Leo pequeñas líneas diminutas
las letras mayúsculas eran
cartas de adultos
Palabras altas en los ojos de un niño.

"a escondidas leo los libros"las manos de maría

. Anverso (superior) y reverso. Escultura en madera de Joao Martins.
"Las manos de María". Anverso (superior) y reverso.

Escultura en madera de João Martins.
Devoré en la biblioteca
que cada semana
me esperó vagando
en la plaza del pueblo la plaza de las ideas
[boy’s stories
or of the boys
since poetry was to me still unknown
of later verses
which I would keep in memory’s pockets
and recited even without knowing
it was possible to write
differently. and books aggregated
ambitions difficult words
meals of pleasure and writing
as in my six year old postcard
sent from far beyond the beach.

The book is bilingual. It could have been in Portuguese or English only. What made you decide to present the poems in both languages?

After publishing seven books in Portuguese (the language I was born into and feel more comfortable writing in), I decided to share my poetry with the Portuguese American community where some readers are not so comfortable reading in Portuguese, as a way of trying to reach that audience and make new connections.

What makes a great poem?

That readers find new meanings for the words. If someone, after reading my verses and, because of that, kisses the one she or he loves, and thinks — wow!–then, it was great for me to write that line. A poem must wake up the senses!

Can you describe where you write?

A table, a computer, my hands and pieces of paper where I write thoughts to digest and later reflect and develop.

A small room, containing hundreds of books, hundreds of CDs, (classical and Portuguese folk music), hundreds of wood-carved sculptures, (my collection), some from my father’s pieces and some mine. A computer where I drop all the “small pieces of paper notes,” and where I can write, correct, change, without wasting too much paper…

What major project are you working on now?

Ferry Street Rua da Palavra, a poetic vision of three friends on the iconic street of Newark, NJ, where you find a multicultural flow of words, colors, habits.

"Book". Wood sculpture by Joao Martins.

“Book”. Wood sculpture by João Martins.

palavra de rua palavras na rua
palavra que é minha palavra que é tua
palavra quebrada o corpo é que sua
palavra da noite pintada na lua
palavra de amor ou palavra nua
palavra que é o nome da rua

Street word

word on the street, street words
word that is my word and yours
word of a broken body that is yours
words of the night painted on the moon
words of love or nude words
word that are the name of a street

What are you reading?

A desumanização by Valter Hugo Mãe; Os memoráveis by Lidia Jorge; (two novels of contemporary and renowned Portuguese writers) and poems by Charles Bukowski.

Do you have any upcoming public readings?

Not confirmed yet, but Rutgers University, Newark; Princeton University, both in NJ, Portuguese elementary schools in Newark, Long Branch, and Elizabeth, NJ, and… many, many more, I hope.

What is your “day job”?

As a property manager, I deal with papers and construction projects. Poetic?No!. But it provides me with lots of human experience in dealing with different people, cultures, words. I would like to have more time available to write, but, at same time, I like being in touch with people to listen and share.

Besides writing, you create sculptures. What attracts you to this art form?

Call it passion, I’ll say: woodcarving, especially carvings of hands… and books. Always the poetic meaning of the hands, the richness of wood mixed with books and hands! The wood natural colors and grain, where you can read stories, and bring you memories and words.

What inspires your wood carvings?

My father was a carpenter and, besides many beautiful pieces of furniture, in his late forties, he started doing “sculptures,” small animals and anthropomorphic figures with tree routes, later developing his technique and in bas relief and other figures.

I never worked wood with my father before I went to carving school, but I grew up between tools, wood and sand paper… Even today, the smell of cutting fresh wood takes me to my young years, the sensibility of my hands caressing the wood, feeling the wood grain…is an incredible sensation.

My father gave me several pieces of his carvings. Not the tools… he used to say that he needed them!…I started collecting, buying sculptures, visiting antique shops, fairs, flea markets, until six years ago I said to myself: “It is time to try it…”

What do you hope to achieve with your art?

When I create on a piece of paper or wood, I expect to send a message to a potential reader or observer. Art is communication. What a craftsman creates, he expects that someone will be able to read behind the book or the object.

What can a piece of wood give you when you work it? Peace, sensibility, power of creating, power of giving. Without thinking about the “eternity,”, will be a statement of what you think and believe.

"Guitarist's hands". Wood sculpture by Joao Martins.

“Guitarist’s hands”. Wood sculpture by João Martins.

Can you describe your art practice?

After a few years admiring and collecting carved pieces, a light went on my head: “Why don’t you try it yourself, with your own hands?”

Every Saturday morning, religiously, I drive to American Woodcarving and Art School (Wayne, New Jersey).

Usually I work with pictures of what I want to do, using my own hands as a model, other times, I have a “picture” in mind, and I start creating, building my own path, until I’m happy with the physical results and the message. Not necessarily until is perfect (always subjective, you always can do more), but until I believe that the piece itself has a clear message and, why not, some poetry!?

Have you had a gallery show?

I had my first personal exhibit July 2014, in Newark, the community where I have been working and living for the last 27 years.

It was difficult to sell my first pieces. There is a sentimental value, a personal attachment you cannot quantify. It was a surprise for most of the people who know me, because they didn’t know I created art. On the other hand, the visitors’ presence and their love for my wood work was a surprise!. The show brought me a sense of personal accomplishment because of the general public’s acceptance and celebration of my artwork

What inspired you to sculpt a series of hands?

To put your hands on a piece of wood can mean tenderness, softness, caring, power. There is always for me a poetic sensibility. Hands can reveal personality, weakness, pride.

How many pieces representing hands do you have?

Probably around sixty: twelve “hands,” about forty wooden books, landscaping, and reliefs. Some take as long as one hundred hours, others fifteen or twenty. When I do a piece, it is not necessarily for sale. Sometimes it’s difficult to be separated from my work. My sculptures are like my own children. But if my work stays behind closed doors, nobody is able to see them and enjoy them. So, I decided to open my mind to the idea of selling…

What is your favorite piece?

I see all of the imperfections in my woodcarvings! The sculpture of my Mom’s hands making lace. It depicts real meaning. Also the hands of the Portuguese guitar player, honed more than hundred and twenty hours of dedicated work. But I consider myself a beginner, always eager to learn. I admire the sculptures of the Italian artist Remo Belletti and Brazilian Cicero D’Ávila, contemporary artists. Incredible sculptures.

Is there a special place close to your heart?

Nothing like our home (a nossa casa)–how we keep calling today, the house where “we still live” in our small village in Portugal. My Mom still lives there. My dad has passed away, and the four remaining family members live thousands of miles apart. But, like [the novelist] Leí y leí y más quería el

José Luis Peixoto lo expresa de forma tan bonita: "Los olores, los sentimientos y las risas son los mismos".

____________ Millicent Borges Accardies colaborador de la Revista Portuguesa Americana. Es una poeta portuguesa-estadounidense, autora de tres libros: herir la eternidad , mujer en un puente tembloroso (chapbook), y

Solo más

(próximo). Ha recibido becas de CantoMundo, National Endowment for the Arts, Fundação Luso-Americana (FLAD) y California Arts Council. Recientemente, enseñó poesía en The Muse Writers Center en Norfolk; Universidad de Texas, Austin; La Reunión en Keystone College; Conferencia de Nimrod en Tulsa, y el Festival de Poesía de Mass. Millicent vive en Topanga, CA. Síguela en Twitter @TopangaHippiePublicaciones recientes de Millicent Accardi

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