The World of Gerard van Oost and Oludara

Posts Tagged ‘schools’

Oil painting of “As They Appear”

I’ve been embarrassed by an outpouring of kindness this week from friends and acquaintances. Today I found out that three students from Florinda Tubino Sampaio school–Gyziane Souza da Silva, Laura Wabner Porto, and Luiza Henriques Pinheiro–painted this gorgeous oil painting based on one of my stories, “As They Appear”. This is such a beautiful, spontaneous gesture that it’s hard to express my gratitude. So I’ll just let their amazing work to speak for itself. Thank you all so much!

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Visit to Erica Marques school

Thanks to a program called Autor Presente in my state, I had the pleasure of visiting the Basic Education School Professor Erica Marques in the city of Terra de Areia.

Little did I know that the eighth-grade groups 81 (coordinated by Gizane Medeiros) and 82 (coordinated by Tatiana de Souza) had prepared an unforgettable day.

Group 82 read “The Fortuitous Meeting” and built a lovely model based on the story’s principal settings: Salvador’s main plaza, the sacred Orfu grove in Africa, Salvador’s port, and the Bahian forest where Gerard met Sacy. Spectacular!

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Group 81 acted out an amazing adaptation of “A Parlous Battle”, under the direction of students Leonara Almeida and Tamara Silva. The play was a magnificent production of almost thirty minutes.

1920051_579562355510176_8834967647219201563_n Os Students Rafaela, Guilherme, and Lucas play Arani, Oludara, and Gerard

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Student actors from group 81

These two short clips give an idea of the time and effort that went into the production. It was an exhilarating experience for me:

Clip: Gerard and Oludara speak with Sacy

Clip: Gerard and Oludara confront the Kalobo

At the end, I took some pictures with the stars of the day: the eighth grade students of Erica Marques school.

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I’d like to thank everyone involved: the students, the professors, the coordinators (Luci and Izabel) and the state’s Book Institute for making possible this unforgettable visit.

(Photos: Tatiana de Souza, Christopher Kastensmidt and E.E.B. Erica Marques)

Visit to school E.E.E.M. Italia

Last week, I spent a magical day at the school E.E.E.M. Italia (Porto Alegre). The students there had read my story “As They Appear”, and I was happily surprised to discover a room filled with drawings, mock-ups, and decorations based on the work.

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I was even more surprised when three students put on a short play based on the story, and another student read a poem she had written about one of the characters  (a first for me!).

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It was an incredible honor, one which makes all those days of writing worthwhile.

Thanks so much to the students and faculty of E.E.E.M. Itália, for the memories of such a magnificent day!

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Visit to the Anhetenguá village

In one of my greatest honors to date as a writer, I was invited to the Tekoá Anhetenguá, a Guarani village, on October 22nd to discuss the portrayal of indigenous peoples in fiction. This village, located in the middle of Porto Alegre’s suburban sprawl, fights to pass along the traditions and culture of the Guarani. It was a pleasant day, everyone was wonderful and friendly, making me instantly feel at home. An oral culture, they explained to me how writing is new to them, but they see it as a great possibility of recording their stories and traditions. As their chief put it, “everyone has a story to tell.”

Respecting their traditions, I didn’t take any pictures, but the images of that visit will stay in my memory forever.