Interview with Clarice Lispector - São Paulo, 1977 (English subtitles)

This interview of Clarice Lispector from February 1977 is the only footage we have of her.
She had arrived at the studios of TV Cultura in São Paulo to participate in a program about film, when the director of the station took the opportunity to ask her for a personal interview. To the astonishment of all present, she accepted. The result is this haunting film of the great writer at the end of her life, looking back on her novels and offering a glimpse at the inner life that produced such astounding works.
Pre-order NEAR TO THE WILD HEART on Amazon: www.amazon.co.u...
WHY THIS WORLD: A Biography of Clarice Lispector by Benjamin Moser, pre-order here: www.amazon.co.u...

[@rhorizon]

I love her insistance on being an "amateur" in order to retain her freedom.

[@FerneyManrique]

That also caught my attention and it is the absolute key. I never believe in the professional artist myth.

[@DarkAngelEU]

@@FerneyManrique Ding dong, Rothko's at the door! Oh look, he took Vincent with him! Virginia Woolf too? Ohmygod, I wonder who else is joining this party!

[@campineira74]

No one kwew at the time, but when she gives this interview, in february/77, she was already very ill (ovary cancer). She died in december/77. That´s why she says that she is so tired, even tired of herself.

[@csmsmith1]

Honest and yet mysterious, simple yet deeply complex beyond the apparently simple words. She was phenomenal.

[@jgalembeck]

facebook.com/EnglishClarice/

[@DarkAngelEU]

Pretty ironic your description is exactly what she's describing at 19:40

[@alidohorizonte]

It’s so awesome that our brazilian goddess Lispector is so appreciated in the USA.

[@rayjr62]

@@alidohorizonte Sadly, she would not live to see 1978. She must have been already sick with cancer when this interview was taped.

[@spiritualanarchist8162]

She manages to answer very honest while being completely guarded,

[@joaov.m.oliveira9903]

Her son said she was not normal at that time (already affected by ovarian cancer). It's sad because according to him, she was a cheerful person.

[@urzsulaz2604]

That s Clarice Lispector

[@soulhoney1908]

Hello

[@SE-ZESS]

🎯🎯🎯

[@harrisonlee9585]

Just like her prose.

[@musicfilmhead9051]

"I'm speaking from my tomb..." holy Moly, that was profound. Hell of a way to end an interview. One of the best writers. RIP.

[@roxannecoyne2744]

I had the same reaction. It was like a bomb that just went off and the interviewer just let it sit there. Wow.

[@pomberorajy]

She died from ovarian cancer some months after this interview, i believe she knew she was dying. I have come to this interview many times throughout these years, it's the line I remember the most.

[@Lucinda_A1]

It makes me wonder when was this interview taken. Great interview by the way, but, it also makes me wonder why this had to be the last sentence. I have just purchased her ,,Near to the Wild Heart,, book and I can’t wait to begin to read it. I already love her. What a person! ❤

[@windskm]

gosh I'd spend hours on youtube if there were more interviews from her. this is one of my favorite interviews I've ever seen from anyone.

[@rafagambardella]

same here!

[@DarkAngelEU]

Same. She's so frank and doesn't dare to admit she doesn't have any answers, even gets annoyed when the director insists there must be at least something she has to say or think about these questions and she just goes "no, I don't care". She doesn't play this stupid game of fame, which other writers more than often do. They think highly of themselves, because they always thought they deserved this kind of attention. She doesn't seem to think this way. She's a private person and she doesn't give in to this pressure. I really like that. Artists today are always forced by their labels, galeries or publishers to go out there and do interviews, either to explain or defend their work, it's more often than not part of their contract to be a public figure. Imagine what kind of talent we are wasting just because of this, a time where people like Lispector wouldn't be able to get anything published because she'd be unwilling to play this silly game of "Look at me, I'm special too!".

[@ofabioblanc]

This is her only tv interview. It was taped in Jan/1977 and she died in december 1977. She agreed to this interview under the condition that it would only be aired after her death.

[@walterjjunior]

it makes me so emotional reading all these comments here from people around the world... that's what clarice always deserved... to be read and read and read... feel blessed for being able to read her work in the language she wrote it herself... a writer who wrote in portuguese and was born in ukraine... sad days for her home country.

[@MaryCatherineCowardiceQueen]

I have never felt more comfortable with my writing than I do now, after having discovered Clarice's "Aquà Viva". So grateful.

[@roxannecoyne2744]

The silences between her words were so full...

[@aliali732]

why!!! why we have just a video from her! yes, we have her books to understand her way of thinking, the world in her mind but i still would like to hear more about her, see her mimics, her smoking, gesture. i watched this video so many times, and never get bored. she is definitely a great soul.. mysterious..

[@mateussouza4021]

intricacy is so great to see people from other countries appreciate a Brazilian writer

[@tyepannew3832]

it's the only interview she gave for tv. she died some months later

[@amandaf942]

is someone who pulls you in ... and the pauses and silences are also very eloquent ...

[@Kanae2062]

As far as I concern she wasn't fond to be recorded, actually, she asked this interview to be published after her death.

[@rogerioferreira2819]

Try this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/noi8hGCjYrWWmpY

[@lucianfick2218]

Reading her lengthy collection of short stories has been for me a singular revelation- she went deep into existence - her observations regarding the human psyche are incisive, coldly precise and dispatched with surgical precision and yet they emerge as poetry full of exuberance. She relishes in experimentation, in upsetting the apple cart, dissuading the reader of all preconceived notions..

[@Fachoun]

Una Donna straordinaria, meravigliosa… una Profetessa. Amore infinito ❤️

[@Burnbluebird]

After all these years, she's still so refreshing

[@littleghostfilms3012]

Sincerity, mystery, brevity, beauty. For me she exists forever!

[@renancarmo1524]

“The Egg and the Hen”, “Mineirinho” and “The Passion According to G.H.” are incredible works. Changed my life. Simply the best writer of all times ❤

[@e-junior]

The first book I read in my life was written by Clarice. It's a book called "O mistério do coelho pensante" (The mystery of the thinking rabbit). Today, she is my favorite writer

[@Zhungarian]

Apesar de cansada e triste, há um humor constante na fala de Clarice.

[@rafagambardella]

verdade!

[@slippery_slobber]

10:40 This was probably done by a native English speaker. Predileto means favorite, not prodigal like on the subtitles.

[@JedKelestron]

“I’m speaking from my tomb.”

[@marinac3549]

It’s unbelievable to have this woman in video, such a blessing to hear her voice!

[@ericamjong]

Amazing author!

[@MaryCatherineCowardiceQueen]

Cowardicequeen.blogspot.com

[@jgalembeck]

facebook.com/EnglishClarice/

[@wordhood]

Somehow, it's impossible to recover from seeing this earnestness, this in-person distance that has nothing to do with disdain. I wish I could have known her.

[@estebanb7166]

Two exceptional sentences. Good on you.

[@NobuAtreides]

Dios mío, no me es posible contener las lagrimas al escuchar a Clarice, decir: Estoy hablando desde mi tumba. ¿Qué mayor fuerza se puede tener?

[@jorgerio6888]

en este momento Clarice ya estaba muy enferma y el cancer tambien avazaba muy rapidamente... estaba muy deprimida tambien...

[@srizzo4213]

@@jorgerio6888 Ela não sabia que estava enferma quando deu essa entrevista. Descobriu o cancer pouco antes de morrer.

[@melinahelmick1033]

thank you for this. clarice was such a beautiful soul.

[@davidadams6863]

Better than food sent me here~🎵

[@jgalembeck]

facebook.com/EnglishClarice/

[@karithakelly9720]

Minha escritora favorita, Clarice trazia uma carga emocional sei lá algo muito louco para seu livros, sempre que leio vem uma onda de sentimentos. É emocionante ver essa entrevista.

[@alexslcampos]

"E só estou triste hoje porque estou cansada"

[@rafagambardella]

genial, neh!

[@luizdantas3218]

such a impactful author, just love her💖

[@robinbergfeld5140]

14 years asking this question, receiving 'he must be insane' stares back, I finally found a human who asked the same. "Do you ever suddenly find it strange to be yourself?"

[@DanHintz]

i have always felt she is quite underrated. thanks for posting this!

[@martinrevoiralynch4460]

Im form another south american country, and that thing you point out is because Brazil has some USA traits. It"is by itselfe": it is too big compared to other countries from south america, its the only one with a different lenguage, even when understandable as in this interview, and has a different story from independence and so on, that they looks inside their own and we dont look too much to them. They neither looked to Portugal because they overshadowed them, so their connection with europe is not the same as latinamerica with Spain. So culturally is an isolated country. This has been changing in the last years.

[@Jestfoster]

This is one of the best interviews I've seen of any author -- cutting question after cutting question.

[@pedrao420]

this was her last interview. she was SOO DEPRESSED and sad at that time

[@howsoever]

and ill

[@bartonlee3594]

This is her only TV interview ever, and she gave it shortly before her death. Depressing, but honest for her as usual. What an extraordinary writer she was.

[@lauravelarde1524]

Gracias por el video

[@paigew2044]

The world will never know her like again.

[@nz8dp]

I love when she says I don't know.

[@TakaiDesu]

Looks that she js always angry, but she is just sad... it's her eyebrows that make her seem agry! Amazing woman

[@joaov.m.oliveira9903]

Her son says she was already feeling the effects of the disease (though unknowingly). She was usually cheerful.

[@soulhoney1908]

@@joaov.m.oliveira9903 ovary cancer probaly

[@joaov.m.oliveira9903]

@@soulhoney1908 Yes.

[@R.a.f.a.e.l.]

Let's give a shout out to the interviewer. Great questions. You can see Clarice appreciated most of them.

[@nataliajapiassu748]

Definitely the best author!!!

[@albertoferreira4471]

Falava de A hora da Estrela, romance maravilhoso

[@sea-goatbr7588]

Sim. Arrepiante ouvir ela falar com tanta humildade e honestidade como se fosse algo qualquer.

[@nem0763]

Look at her stare, wow. There's a very strong being there.

[@marciomarinho3504]

She's my favorit 🇧🇷❣

[@muratz1]

Sacrificed in modernity, modern age. The last golden years of "labels". She'd wanted to be an ordinary and loved person alongside a writer. But couldn't find it. If she were lived today, may be, she would have been happy to show her daily life humanity together being a writer and share them at a fan group on Instagram. One day i think the old times were gold times and sometimes i see those times as dark as the distopic future. If i watch this dead woman a couple minutes more, i'll need some more sertraline.

[@fabiosilva9637]

13:26 I’m sure one of the writers was the former president of the Brazilian academy of letters, Nelida Piñon. They were best friends and Nelida was with her at her deathbed.

[@juli3836]

Diosa de la literatura❤

[@jhotonini4464]

Uma mente brilhante e intrigante 🧐

[@Bruno-hd9qo]

Her written Portuguese is impeccable. When speaking she makes no mistakes but with a very noticeable accent...

[@tyepannew3832]

it is not an accent, it's because she had a lisp (sigmatism)

[@gustavosauerrentas]

Bruno no Surname you suppose portuguese is not her mother tongue? She wans't born in Brazil but she came to live here when she was 1 yo

[@maycowranover]

mother tongue AAAAAAAAAAAA KKKKKKKKKKKKKK

[@ressnar]

Agre , she has northeastern accent with foreign pronunciation , mostly the middle "R"

[@calligeniap.9025]

@@maycowranover falar "mother tongue" é aceitável, não seja precipitado

[@jgrab1]

Aspect raaay-sheee-ooohh!

[@alexandrecosta_1981]

There's a movie in the making based on "The Passion According G.H.", from the acclaimed brazilian director, Luiz Fernando Carvalho...

[@guilhermehenrique6096]

Nem saiu ainda, estou esperando com todas expectativas possíveis

[@18p3pi]

QUÊ?!?!?!?!?! Luiz Fernando Carvalho que fez Lavoura Arcaica?!?!?!?!

[@alexandrecosta_1981]

@@18p3pi sim... Tenho que assistir...

[@FranciscoSilva-vb3bj]

In 1977, writers lived under a terrible censure of military dictadure. Tortures, kidnappings, death squadroons, murders and violence... This television program was in a public television and this answer to "the papper of writers in Brasil today" was considered provocative and dangerous for many, many people. For feel the tension of these days, compare with the interview of Brazilian singer Ellis Regina in the same period and program. Hard times, very hard times...

[@fernandosantosii5276]

Bullshit! Newspapers and magazines were not closed. Even a publisher called Universo whose owner was a notorious communist later said that the military were the ones who gave the most money to culture because they feared the social "pressure cooker" bursting. We had music festivals, theater, carnival, etc. The connivance of the military was so great that today the socialists occupy the entire cultural and intellectual sphere of Brazil. Only the radical communist group suffered.

[@sea-goatbr7588]

@@fernandosantosii5276 Essa galera de direita devia voltar no tempo. aiai

[@world100ti]

@@fernandosantosii5276 Precisely... You are absolutely right...these left-wing lunatics should go back to their caves!

[@melkor77751]

@@fernandosantosii5276 volte pra sua bolha

[@murilo3729]

@@fernandosantosii5276 Sure! And everyone there had a collective hallucination. Maybe the media did something with our heads in that time, isn't it?

[@dudujapix]

Maravilhosa!

[@Jrobertopv08]

Clarice Lispector tecia com a lingua portuguesa os labirintos em que mostrava a alma humana sem fábulas, feijões milagrosos, utopias.

[@simoned.r.2899]

Ela estava com câncer e provavelmente sedada e triste pela sua condição tanto que faleceria no mesmo ano em que ocorreu esta entrevista. Nota-se que está muito depressiva. Clarice amo vc, estejas onde estiver. Um beijo querida.

[@tyepannew3832]

ela ja morreu, nao vai receber o beijo. valeu pela intençao

[@JuniorJr...]

Provavelmente ela receberá, já você... nem viva(o)

[@tyepannew3832]

morreu morreu. papai noel nao existe, alice

[@johnhancock8556]

@@JuniorJr... AGORA NÃO PARO DE PENSAR EM UM CADÁVER RECEBENDO UM BEIJO.

[@JuniorJr...]

@@johnhancock8556 dá uma olhada no espelho... verá um cadáver ambulante. Um nada; morto por dentro.

[@DRORELIMELECH120V]

very interesting

[@EnigmaQueen]

“Eu acho que quando eu não escrevo eu estou morta.” Isso foi impactante. O adulto é triste e solitário.” Clarice Maravilhosa…

[@rafagambardella]

GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@dogpupe]

13:02 "To speak as little as posible" Cold as fuck. She could be saying it in a poetic way, or because of the military dictatorship in Brazil during the 70s.

[@jupitertrolley3330]

Entirely outside the reality of life

[@blinknpoof]

thats interesting, for me is the exactly opposite, we for some reason can't get this high dose of reality that Clarice seems to take

[@reinaldodesflamino]

May be reality was too cruel for her at the moment because she was dying of cancer. She wanted to live.

[@melissaperez6814]

La hora de la estrella

[@Lightguide777]

THIS!

[@EnigmaQueen]

Eu suponho que me entender não é uma questão de inteligência, e sim de sentir.” “Ou toca ou não toca.“ Parece que eu ganho na releitura.” Gênia

[@vidavida3804]

Lovely woman

[@gemstonesparkle7915]

If you all think it is interesting just by what she says, imagine hearing it on your native accent! She left Recife, but Recife never left her. That "E eu sei?!" Hahaha

[@mjeffbr]

curioso que ele parece ter um sotaque estrangeiro, não sei se é por medicação, algumas palavras têm uma pronúncia estranha. Não soa muito pernambucano o sotaque, quase nada

[@gemstonesparkle7915]

@@mjeffbr Soa sim

[@srizzo4213]

@@mjeffbr Ela tinha a língua presa, não era sotaque.

[@eita6297]

Esse "e eu sei!?" me pegou também, como pernambucano. Deu até saudade de casa. E não, ela não tinha sotaque, tinha a língua presa.

[@partiprocanada]

​@@mjeffbrpensei o mesmo mas deve ser porque ela era ucraniana. Imagino se falavam ucraniano m casa na infancia

[@sagarsaxena6318]

Her insistence on never being a 'professional' writer is very profound & it shows in her rather strange/unique writing style.

[@antonyreyn]

My girlfriend was seriously ill but she survived I said to her - you were dead but now you are alive again,I'm dead now it's my turn I'm dead - speaking from my tomb.

[@TristanDeCunha]

How long after this interview did she enter hospital?

[@TristanDeCunha]

Ah, I see the she died on 9 Dec, '77.

[@eligustavleven]

+TristanDeCunha 4 days

[@smilp23]

Why can't Penguin fix this so the aspect ratio is correct?

[@anaorozcoaguayo1527]

la novela es "La hora de la estrella"?

[@chicooliveira432]

Sí!

[@lifeoflana6251]

I had a past life regression dream of being her, and her name. I had no idea who she was, I'm Scottish. I googled up the name and 1920s journalist/writer and she came up.. I told my friend, she's very similar to my energy. I like to write and create also. I'm 18. I wonder if I was her.

[@amandaf942]

that beautiful, passion for Clarice crosses borders

[@ayllaraquel4739]

That's a Nice feeling... For me I can say Clarice Lispector is my friend even If she doesn't know me... But when I'm Reading her book, it's like If she were in front of me... The best book of her in my opinion It is "A hora da estrela", It is her last book...

[@estebanb7166]

Spoiler: No, you were not.

[@GabrielSoares-ju9yq]

oh boy...

[@wagnergaldinoalves]

@@GabrielSoares-ju9yq oh boy endeed

[@LuneFlaneuse]

💛✨

[@gabrielblanco7343]

Pity that the interviewer doesn't ask follow up questions. Seems like he's just reading a script. I would have loved to know more about the never-ending story Clarice talked about.

[@judegray698]

maybe he tried but from the interview itself her face , tone she was really tired , sad and anxious .... her answer also didn't give him a lot for follow up and maybe he tried but was told to keep is simple and on the point add to that dying shortly after this interview of Ovarian cancer whatever she give her is GOLD

[@flavia7156]

He was taking it easy. Everything she said is what she is. Nothing more.

[@EnigmaQueen]

She was dressed and ill at that moment. Honestly, I think she spoke a lot because of her situation at that moment

[@samantasas6449]

There is another interesting audio interview (recorded in 1976) available on KZbin: kzbin.info/www/bejne/m2Pcc5RvjLOhptksi=XS0QW006MQyyQMTj I find Clarice with a lighter disposition on that one, maybe the interviewers also deserve some credit for it.

[@nitika1512]

i wish i knew Portuguese just to understand it and read her books in the original

[@paulacostas5942]

♥️

[@albertotrioni3773]

[@GAguiardeCarvalho]

Surprisingly, the best female Brazilian author speaks Portuguese with a very elegant and marked somewhat Baltic accent. Her written command of the language is indisputable. What a lady.

[@sarahcunha4532]

She moved to Brazil when she was 1 year old... she had a lisp (sigmatism) and her parents were from Ukraine, but she is a Brazilian Portuguese native speaker

[@Homoclassicus]

It's not an accent. She explained it: she had a harmless deficiency in her speech, a sort of lisp, so she had trouble pronouncing some consonants accurately. She came to Brazil when she was just 4 months old, she couldn't have been influenced by foreign languages much. She always said she felt as a Northeastern Brazilian and her one and only mother language was Portuguese in a Northeastern accent. But people thought she had some accent just because of her small speech impairment.

[@GAguiardeCarvalho]

@@Homoclassicus It is very common in Brazil, especially in the South, in some regions of German and Italian settlement, a foreign language is spoken at home and native Brazilian and Portuguese speakers do carry an accent throughout all their lives.

[@Homoclassicus]

@@GAguiardeCarvalho Yes, I know, but she herself denied that assumption. She said people thought she was still foreign in some way because of the way she spoke, but according to her it was just because she had some difficulty to pronounce some consonants, it was no accent at all. That's what she thought, so I see no reason to doubt it. The way she pronounces most consonants and the general prosody and entonation of her speech sound very Northeastern to me with a bit of Carioca mixed in, which agrees well with her life story.

[@valkarkauskas9488]

curious how did you make this assumption, and what do you mean by Baltic accent? Like some Lithuanian speaker would speak Portuguese?

[@jeaninecouto5979]

@13:42 A hora da estrela

[@baliksupper6043]

Great writer,but seems completely joyless.

[@galdutro]

She was battling cancer at the time. Unfortunately she would lose this battle.

[@guymacandrew5989]

She must have been sick then as she died at the end of the year,she seemed so sad.

[@rhqstudio4107]

If it were james joyce would they be asking him about his childhood writing? no.

[@vuvietdung1996]

21:10 Dostoyevsky

[@MrIgorYong]

Noo na hora que ela fala que a mãe fazia poesia, o entrevistador vai direto pro roteiro, sem perguntar nada a respeito é de falta de educação... da até agonia de ver

[@soniacarvalho1950]

Foi uma entrevista totalemnte cheia de cortes, mas da pra ver que ela esta a vontade com esse jornalista.

[@marina0772]

pensa numa loba

[@user-yk8cf1bt4j]

I came from Dakota Johnson’s tea time anyone else?

[@zzflvr]

Did they mentioned Clarice? Where can I find the post? Was it in the book club?

[@user-yk8cf1bt4j]

@@zzflvr yes in the book club

[@zzflvr]

@@user-yk8cf1bt4j great to know! thank you :)

[@EnigmaQueen]

I’m here because I love her and her books. I am Brazilian, and we used to read Clarice Lispector in high school before taking entrance exams and starting college. I reread Clarice Lispector every two years

[@blackbird5634]

bouncy and fun all the time she's a tough one to corner on any subject of intensity or introspection. One wonders if she's ever been a serious person or has she always been skimming along the surface of life with gay abandon?

[@Bawbcaht]

She comes across as a spy with a convenient cover story for her surname.

[@mjeffbr]

Entrevista estranhíssima, ela parece irritada e desinteressada e os silêncios são de certo modo incômodos. O jornalista fez várias perguntas interessantes, mas ela aparentemente estava desconfortável, a despeito de ter aceito a proposta da entrevista.

[@soossabios2713]

Ela está com câncer

[@vante2425]

Tem análises de psicólogos e outras pessoas no KZbin que diz que ela fazia essas pequenas pausas para a outra pessoa entender e responder oq ela tava dizendo. Eu não sei explicar muito bem, mais pesquise que vc ira achar ótimas análises dessa última entrevista da Clarice Lispector.

[@EnigmaQueen]

Ela estava doente e depressiva naquele momento. Vc queria o que? Devemos ser gratos por essa entrevista, pois pouco tempo depois ela faleceu.

[@1707more]

Gracias por el video

[@maxinepulsipher7647]

“I’m speaking from my tomb”

[@EnigmaQueen]

😅