This page brings together selected reflections and responses from across the international literary and artistic community.
Voices from the Arts
Luiz Caldas
Acclaimed Brazilian musician Luiz Caldas introduces Narlan Matos and their collaborative project, Sarao no Pátio das Flores.
Gerson Conrad
Gerson Conrad, former member of Brazilian band Secos & Molhados, talks about his friendship and muscial collaborations with Narlan Matos.
Vinicius Cantuaria
Vinicius Cantuaria, one of Brazil’s most accomplished songwriters, talks about Narlan’s poetry and career.
Writers and Poets
“the best poet of the young generation” - Waly Salomão
“a breath of fresh air” - Robert Creeley
“Dear brother, I bless you. You are a true poet, not only for your verses but also for your character” - Yevgeny Yevtushenko
“The first poems pleased me and encouraged me to continue reading…. There is no doubt that this is the book of a poet, and that is what matters” - Ferreira Gullar
“What impressed me about the poetry of Narlan Matos Teixeira was his consummate art of dealing with the word, his servant and his accomplice, in the creation of unexpectedly beautiful things, hard to find every day.” - Herberto Sales
“one of the most promising voices on the international scene” - Roberto Deidier (from Roberto Deidier’s blog)
A POET PILGRIM
“Narlan Matos is a poet-pilgrim.
His writing is bold and deep: it witnesses and explores the world around us with profundity and a fearless honesty.
If the human destiny is to journey, You and I, Wayfarers of this Life, (Eu e Tu, Caminheiros Dessa Vida) does more than bear simple witness to this fact.
The open texture of Matos’s verse invites us to participate in a series of vividly contrasted episodes within that wayfaring.
At the same time, these build into an extraordinarily sustained, book-length work.
You and I is an exceptional technical and conceptual feat, put to the most important of ends – a serious exploration of the human condition.” - Fiona Sampson, Senior Fellow at Harris Manchester College, Oxford University
Andrej Blatnik
Andrej Blatnik, acclaimed Slovenian writer, talks about meeting Narlan and getting to know his poetry.
Scholars
Dr. Célia Bianconi (Boston University) reflects on Narlan Matos’s poetry and reads one of his poems.