Born: Dec 10, 1925, Chechlnik, Ukraine, U.S.S.R.
Died: Dec 9, 1977, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Clarice Lispector was a Brazilian novelist and short-story writer, widely recognized as one of the most important modern writers. She was born in Chechel’nik, Ukraine, and emigrated with her family to northeastern Brazil when she was two months old. In 1937 her family moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s capital then and its cultural center. Lispector never returned to her birthplace.
Although she studied law and practiced journalism yet Lispector soon revealed a literary vocation, publishing her first novel, Perto do coração selvagem (1944; translated as Near to the Wild Heart, 1990) in the year she completed her law studies at the National Faculty of Law in Rio. Married to a career diplomat, she resided outside Brazil for many years, mainly in Europe and the United States. Lispector published several novels, as well as short stories and other works that brought together journalistic chronicles and prose writings. She also published four children’s books.
Lispector’s dense, introspective and poetic prose explores issues of self, language, consciousness, and existence. Deeply philosophical and lacking a traditional plot structure, A maçã no escuro (1961; TheApple in the Dark, 1967) is representative of Lispector’s longer prose in its depiction of the protagonist’s struggles to create an authentic personal self. A paixão segundo G.H. (1964; Passion According to G.H., 1988) explores the existential drama of a middle-class housewife. A hora da estrela (1977; The Hour of the Star, 1986) combines social awareness and psychological analysis with reflections on the role of the writer in modern society. Lispector’s short stories often focus on the moments of epiphany-instants in which her protagonists gain some sort of unexpected insight into themselves. The volume Laços de família (1960; Family Ties, 1972) includes some of her most critically acclaimed work in the genre.
Lispector won several Brazilian literary awards, including the Graça Aranha Prize in 1944 for Near to the Wild Heart, the Cármen Dolores Prize in 1961 for The Apple in the Dark, and the Golfinho de Ouro in 1969 for Felicidade clandestina (Clandestine Happiness, 1971). Other important works include A legião estrangeira (1964; The Foreign Legion, 1986), Uma aprendizagem ou o livro dos prazeres (1964; An Apprenticeship or the Book of Delights, 1986), and Água viva (1973; The Stream of Life, 1989).
