Featured Interview With Vitor Vicente
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My name is Vitor Vicente. I was born and raised in a labour town besides Lisbon, Portugal. Since 2006 I am living abroad between Spain, Ireland, Poland and Hungary, being currently based in Budapest. I have traveled to more than 60 countries, either for leisure and business purposes. My extensive travels as well as my expat experience, are definitely present in various forms and shapes in all my books. I have a cat, called Hanucat, named after a strong affinity for Judaism (which is another key element in my literary works).
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I always had a keen interest on any guidance material to help me understand the world and the human being. Books just came across during that journey. At first, around the age of sixteen, I have started composing lyrics for heavy metal bands. I was supposed to sing, but in the end, I only succeed to read the books referred by my music idols and to realize that would be a way wiser to spend more time holding a pen than a micro. On the beginning, I did write poetry (like every teenager) and stories with an absurd background (most of the times, inspired by the surrounding reality of that labour town).
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
So there are still genres in reality! Glad to know that literature is still intact to the amalgam devouring every aspect of life into a messy mass. My favorite authors are Franz Kafka, George Orwell, Michel Houellebecq, Nelson Rodrigues, Enrique Vila-Matas, José Rentes de Carvalho, Bret Easton Ellis. Going back to genres: I am quite inclusive, but I would certainly fall for Memories and Short Stories. It is pretty difficult to identify what inspires me to write, as I believe that the writer shall be the venue and not the organizer of the event. Perhaps we can coordinate the…chaos. Still, I would say that I am inspired by all sorts of things that transcend my comprehension, being writing a tool to give them frame and by that saving me for getting overwhelmed, calm me down, etc.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book, “Bravo, Brasil” it is a narrative of the first two trips I made in Brazil. Even though both set-up after cultural events (book presentations, academic conferences, among other boring stuff) the object is rather focused on country observations, on comparing it vs. Portugal/Europe, on acknowledging and demolishing Latino stereotypes. The second part (which corresponds to the second trip) is radically different, it is written from a 5 stars hotel in Sorocaba and it extends the satire to the colonialist mentality. The tone is certainly caustic.
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