»Saudade« by Vinicius Jatobá

»Sehnsucht« describes a very German emotional state that can rarely be translated literally into a certain language. Brazilian prose, essay, and stage author Vinicius Jatobá, fellow of the Akademie Schloss Solitude (2018/2020), will illuminate the related Portuguese term »Saudade« during an online reading. The term expresses the pain of having lost something beloved, a form of backward-looking longing that can never be satisfied and about which Fernando Pessoa wrote: »Saudade – only Portuguese can know this feeling. Because only they possess this word, to call it by its real name.« Jatobá, who is considered one of the best young Brazilian authors, talks about the significance of »Saudade« for literature with the director of the Akademie Schloss Solitude, Elke aus dem Moore.

The reading was supposed to take place within the framework of the literature festival »Sehnsucht« at Literaturhaus Stuttgart (March, 20 to March 22, 2020). Due to COVID-19 pandemic, the festival had to be canceled and we are very happy that the reading can place online instead and in cooperation with Literaturhaus Stuttgart.

Supported by the Innovation Fund of the Ministry of Science, Research and Art Baden-Württemberg, in cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Foundation Baden-Württemberg, the Akademie Schloss Solitude, and the atelier am bollwerk.