AN INTERVIEW WITH PAULO COELHOThe Coming of Age of aBrazilian Phenomenon

G L A U C O O R T O L A N O

WHEN I FIRST READ about Paulo Coelho’s confirmationas the newest member of the prestigiousAcademia Brasileira de Letras (ABL), I immediatelycontacted him, first to congratulate him for the outstandingachievement, and then to extend an invitation to do a shortinterview for WLT, which he graciously accepted. For me inparticular, it was a great pleasure to hear about his confirmation,mainly because I had received some severe criticismfrom more conservative critics for including his work TheAlchemist in a recent top-ten list of Brazilian novels for the pasttwenty years (see WLT 75:3–4, pp. 89–91). Some of hisanswers—transcribed in the interview below, which I havetranslated—will address this issue of prejudice with his ownpersonal insight.

PAULO COELHO (b. 1947, Rio de Janeiro) is not only one of themost widely read but also most influential writers in theworld today, not only in my opinion but also in the opinion ofnumerous prize juries—in Germany, Italy, Poland, France,Spain, Ireland, Brazil, and Yugoslavia—that have honoredCoelho with over a dozen international awards over the pastseveral years. Why is it then that some critics opposed hiselection to the Academy or the selection of his works as someof the best examples of contemporary Brazilian literature? Isuspect that some of these critics simply disparage Coelho’snarrative simplicity—a very powerful technique that he hascontinually mastered over the years. The Alchemist, for example,employs a fablelike language that has won the authorrecognition around the globe. He seldom uses complex allegories,metaphors, or idioms. All his work is simple, and, as Iwrote in my previous essay, his style captures not only theimagination but also the hearts of his readers. His message isalso very simple and millennial: happiness lies in finding ourselves.Simply put, Paulo Coelho is an author in search ofhimself, a trait that epitomizes his literary truth.

This Brazilian phenomenon, as he has come to be known,has been very consistent not only in his personal quest butalso in becoming one of the most important writers of ourtime—perhaps to his own mother’s amazement, since shealways discouraged him from taking up a profession thatoften offers very meager financial remuneration in countrieslike Brazil. It seems the more he writes, the more he earns theacclaim of important critics, like Umberto Eco, and of an everincreasingnumber of readers around the world. To date, some43 million copies of his books have been sold in 150 countriesand in 56 languages, according to information found on hisWeb site. That places Coelho as the second most-read contemporaryauthor, based on a poll taken by the French magazineLire in 1999. The body of his work consists of thirteen books(nine novels, three short-story collections, and two adaptations);the following titles, all published by HarperCollins,have been translated into English:

The Pilgrimage: A Contemporary Quest for Ancient Wisdom (1987,Eng. 1992)The Alchemist (1988, Eng. 1993)The Valkyries: An Encounter with Angels (1992, Eng. 1995)By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept (1994, Eng. 1996)The Fifth Mountain (1996, Eng. 1998)Warrior of the Light: A Manual (1997, Eng. 2003)Veronika Decides to Die (1998, Eng. 1999)The Devil and Miss Prym (2000, Eng. 2001)

Paulo Coelho’s coming of age as a writer is marked by hisconfirmation as the newest member of the Brazilian Academyof Letters, despite all the controversy surrounding his nomination.The 104-year-old Academy, founded by Machado deAssis (1839–1908)—an author considered by many the greatestwriter of the Western hemisphere during his lifetime—hasbeen famously restrictive in selecting its new members since itsinception. Coelho had to undergo two consecutive rounds ofvoting prior to his receiving an absolute majority of votes andconfirmation as a member of the ABL, most likely to the surpriseof many conservative Brazilian critics. No matter whatthose critics say, however, Coelho is today the most influentialrepresentative of Brazilian belles lettres, even though his worksare almost never set in Brazil. This does not make his work lessBrazilian, just more universal. Coelho writes in Portuguese, hisnative language, and with the psyche of a true contemporarycarioca.

What follows is a brief interview with Coelho that tookplace at the end of July 2002, which was originally conductedin Portuguese.Glauco Ortolano Nobel Prize winner «e Kenzabur» once saidthat Paulo Coelho had discovered the secret of literary alchemy.I’m sure there are younger writers interested in learningabout these secrets. Would you mind sharing them with us?

Paulo Coelho The average print run for a novel in the UnitedStates or France is about three thousand copies—the same as inBrazil. As for a secret formula, it does not exist: an author whotries to express herself thinking only about the market mayhave a successful book once, but she most likely will not repeatthe same success, which will not allow her to make a living bywriting. In my case, I did the only thing I should have done,which is to use my writings to get to know myself better. Aslong as I continue to be loyal to myself, without looking forformulas, my readers also remain loyal. Literature has gottenfurther away from criticism exactly because, instead of beingmore traditional, criticism has become reactionary. As a result,literary criticism has neither the power to sell nor to impedethe sale of books. The reader, on the other hand, observes realitymore closely and buys whatever reflects his or her state ofmind or the status quo. Consequently, two factions haveemerged: those who want to relive the past in the present(many academics are still tied to a series of old traditions) andthose who truly live in the present (the readers).

GO During your formative years, what Brazilian or foreignauthors were to influence your future writing?PC Jorge Luis Borges, Jorge Amado, Henry Miller, andWilliam Blake.GO Your stories rarely take place in Brazil, which makes somecritics exclude your writings from the canon of Brazilian literature.How do you view this attitude? Do you see yourself as aBrazilian writer?PC Interestingly, my work is being used in schools throughoutBrazil, and any textbook that deals with post-1990 Brazilian literaturewill certainly make reference to one of my works. It isone thing to write about Brazil and quite another to see theworld through the eyes of a Brazilian—something that is presentin each line I write. Nobody ever thought that Hemingwaywas a Spanish writer, or that Henry Miller was French,even though both authors have written about countries otherthan the United States.

GO You have recently been confirmed as the newest memberof the prestigious Brazilian Academy of Letters in spite of acertain resistance by some of the more conservative members.What, in your opinion, was the key factor in changing theirattitude?

PC Any resistance is not only normal but necessary—it is partof the creative process. The body of the ABL is composed offorty members, and I received an absolute majority of votes(twenty-three votes), although the other candidate had excellentliterary qualifications. The Brazilian Academy does notneed the market and does not give in to anything; the reasonfor my acceptance, therefore, is a concrete fact: the parametersof the criteria for induction have changed. And because wefind in today’s Academy individuals who are sensitive to currentissues (and not to the past, as the legend goes), this hasmade my acceptance possible. The cultural scene has changed,and people have realized that it is important to put prejudicesaside and to try to evaluate literature as a mirror of the presentand not something that lies in some concept of the past.

GO Your work does not seem to embrace any political or ideologicalstance. Would it be correct to assume that you reallydon’t have an allegiance to any particular group, or am I theone who can’t read between the lines?

PC My literature is totally committed to a new political attitude:man in search of his own identity. It does not deal withthe old and worn-out categories of right and left. There is arevolution that is slowly setting up, which the press doesn’tseem to have detected yet. If I had to sum up the whole idea inonly one expression, I’d say that the new political attitude forour era is to “die alive.” In other words, being aware of andparticipating in things until the day we die—something thatdoes not occur very often. People end up dying to the wor

ldon the day they renounce their dreams. After that, one departson a journey as did Ulysses, accepting the challenges andknowing that sometimes one must fight alone, yet understandinghe stands in for the entire human race.

GO Within the so-called boom of Latin American literature—which produced such great authors as Mario Vargas Llosa,Gabriel García Márquez, and Julio Cortázar, among others—many writers were accused of having sacrificed literary qualityfor a larger readership. Would you say this attitude is justifiablein our era of mass communication?

PC I would say that whoever criticized these writers does notknow much about literature. Not one of these writers has givenin to commercial pressures. These are wholesome individualswho are very honest in their work.GO Now that you have become more widely read thanColombian author Gabriel García Márquez, thus becoming themost widely read Latin American author of all time, could wesuppose that the hour of the Brazilian literary boom has finallyarrived?PC My books have sold internationally for seven years now.My case is not a matter of a national boom, mainly becauseBrazilian authors are very different and reflect many differentrealities. The famous Latin American boom was an invention ofthe critics, and it never left the confines of Latin America. Theauthors who have achieved notoriety—namely, Borges, GarcíaMárquez, and Vargas Llosa—were completely different interms of themes and in writing styles. One cannot generalize orcreate a fad by using literature as a tool to catalyze: theseauthors gained notoriety because they have written quality literatureand not because they came from the same continent.GO Many attribute the success of your work, at least in part,to the times in which we live. Since the pronouncement of thedeath of all ideologies, it seems there is a desire to return to atime in which there was greater concern for the human condition.Your work, in all its simplicity, seems to have met thisdesire. How do you respond to such comments?PC The death of ideologies has not been declared. What hastaken place is the death of a whole system of archaic thoughts.Men will always need an ideal, for it is part of human nature.All men in my view are like volcanoes. The mass accumulatesbut nothing is transformed on the surface. A man asks himself:Will my life always be like this? In a given moment the processof eruption beings. If he is intelligent, this man will allow thelava in the interior to flow out and change the scenery of hissurroundings; if he is not, then he will try to control the explosion.From then on, he will use all his energy in trying to keepthe volcano under control. I have been pragmatic enough tounderstand that at certain moments in my life, it is necessary towithstand the pain caused by the explosion in order to enjoythe new scenery around me. There are many opinions as towhy humanity is always searching for its own ethics. A friendof mine sent me a story once about a man who used to tell hisgranddaughter about two animals that used to inhabit his soul:a dog that protected it and a wolf that would devour anythingit could find. The granddaughter then asked him which one ofthe two was the strongest, to which the man answered that thestrongest is always the one I feed the most, depending on thecircumstances. The central ideology of the human race, fromthe beginning of time, is this: respect your neighbor.GO You have received important recognitions in severalcountries, such as France, Germany, Italy, Israel, and Brazil.What is the importance of such recognition to you? Do you feelyou now have a greater social responsibility than when youfirst started your career as a writer?PC Who I am is found in each one of my books. They representseveral different aspects of my life, each one with its ownagony and ecstasy. They do not represent a universe that I idealized,but one that I’ve lived. Therefore, I’m responsible foreach line I write. On the other hand, existence is always in constantchange, and I need to remain attentive to these changes inorder to continue to be worthy of what I write. This is myresponsibility: to be honest with myself. And now that I haveachieved celebrity status hardly imagined for a writer, I understandthat I can use my notoriety to fight for things I believe in.That’s why I decided to create the Paulo Coelho Institute,which cares for children and the elderly in Brazil with anannual endowment of $300,000. I have also accepted to beinvolved with some institutions whose ideals I believe in. I ama special advisor to the UNESCO program on Spiritual Convergenceand Intercultural Dialogue, a member of the ShimonPeres Foundation, and serve on the board of the Schwab Foundation,which has been creating a new structure for socialentrepreneurship—that is, people who are responsible not onlyfor production but also for how production is achieved.GO As a writer myself, I know well that each work is like achild for us and that we don’t usually like to speak publicly ofour favorite children. But if I could ask you to allow an exceptionhere and talk about some of your favorite works, whichones would they be?PC The answer here lies in the question: we love our childrenequally. Some do require more care than the others—but itwould be unfair to try to classify this or that work. We shouldnot judge love, we should just live it.University of OklahomaGLAUCO ORTOLANO is a Brazilian novelist who is currentlyteaching in the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures,and Linguistics at the University of Oklahoma, where he alsoserves as a WLT contributing editor.