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António Rebelo de Sousa

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Ana Margarida de Carvalho

Writer

With her first novel she won the Grande Prémio APE and she repeated the feat in 2017 with her second. In addition to these books, she has already given us short stories, a work on judgements that changed history and a children’s story to read, revealing a diversity that places her among Portugal’s most versatile authors. There may be a genetic factor to this capacity, as she is the daughter of writer Mário de Carvalho, and also shares her father’s tendency to set her stories in other times. But she dedicated most of her life to journalism, a job she did for 25 years and which also won her several awards.

Ana Margarida de Carvalho
There is that old saying that goes «every journalist feels they have a book inside them», but there is also another, slightly more evil one, which adds «and that’s where it should stay». In your case, there were many well-received books. Did journalism help you with fiction writing?
I am tempted to answer to the contrary: writing fiction has helped me with journalism. Of course in journalism we use denotative writing, which is more direct and effective, and we have an unbreakable pact with the reader, which is the truth; when writing novels or short stories we use a connotative language, resorting to various effects and layers of reading. But I have always made an effort to present more creative journalistic texts.

Have you followed your father’s instructions given in the book «Anyone who says the contrary does do because they are right»? Do you usually talk to him about writing techniques?
We usually have discussions, yes. Although we use completely different ways of expressing ourselves, we have many opinions in common. The cliché, the commonplace, repulses us a bit. We communicate a lot through humour and we feel the same contempt (which veers on the side of pity) for unimportant people who give themselves airs of importance.
«In placing my stories in the past I’m talking about them. When I talk about continents that do not belong to me, I’m talking about mine»
What led you to include other historic times in your books?
In placing my stories in the past I’m talking about them. When I talk about continents that do not belong to me, I’m talking about mine.

Is it possible nowadays to live from being a writer?
It is not possible at all to live from just writing in Portugal. I think that only those who sell a lot, or have many translations can aspire to live exclusively from writing. Almost every writer I know has a profession from which they earn a salary. That was what I had in journalism, before being let go after 25 years. This year I was fortunate to receive a literary creation grant, awarded by the Portuguese state, which works as my oxygen supply for 2018. When the year ends, I don’t know what I'm going to do; it will be a total uncertainty.

What is your view of journalism worldwide?
The paradigm has changed. We live in times of crisis. And the crisis is defined by the old not yet being extinguished and the new not being fully installed. There are many good examples that reach us from abroad, and they are those who are not impressed by fashions and solidly continue to focus on quality, creativity and credibility. In Portugal, I see many following formulas that have been abandoned for years by foreign groups. It is a pity.

T. Sérgio Gomes da Costa
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