Lessness and More is a fresh poetic experiment that will be certainly most rewarding to the reader. Its themes are varied, from weather reports to approaching death.
Excerpts:
THAT SUMMER AFTERNOON
That summer was not easy on us But one afternoon the clouds came And the shadows gave way to quiet light As we walked to the park half regretting Having cursed the heat We were tired of summer, and afraid of winter Lying by me, you read a book, occasionally Turning your head to see what I was doing But I was reading too And I would bend over to your side And kiss you lightly on the head It was a quiet summer afternoon, and We had all life can offer The rest being vanity and excess I flipped a page and turned to you To kiss you on the head It was the last of that hot summer But winter would be warm
A DOG IS A MAN'S BEST FRIEND
Should you peek At the fugitive Picture of death? How will you face Your death If it is not sudden? And will your dog Ever bark At your corpse Deceased? Or will it be at ease As if you threw it a bone That was once your own?
I won this book in a goodreads giveaway a few months ago and finally got the time to truly read it with the attention that it deserves. It's going too be interesting to read a book written by a brazilian, like me, that lives in Brussels and wrote this book in english.
I'm not much of a poetry reader even though I really liked to read the classic Brazilian and Portuguese poems for literature class in school I never really had that passion that some people have for poetry. This book has my first try to read poetry in English and I must say that even thought it wasn't easy for me it was a very nice experience. I would definetly love to read one of Ceasar Nascimento's poems in Portuguese.
"To write a poem You neeed a blank page A little solitude Anda a restless mind"
I have won this book off goodreads here and after a long wait cause the local postal services could not find my address, now finally I could get to reading it. Not to bad of a read, I enjoy my poetry and have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Though some bits do get a bit below the belt, it is quite a fun read, sort of a quick little pick me up. But I do think that the author do touch on some daily truths we encounter and puts them out there. My verdict is a final 3.5 out of 5 and if you have some time on your hands make some use of that time and take a read at this one, it would be spare time well spent.
I don't know if the author is successful or famous, but it is irrelevent whichever way. In this stark and seemingly simple bundle of poetry, the author does something very rare: putting some of the truths of the world into words. From ageing to 'writer's block', the pages contain irreplaceable meaning, which I am the better for having read. I might only note that the slight pessimism might be incompatible with some readers, although it is a trivial slight that must be ignored. Bravo Cesar Nascimento
I found Cesar's book "Lessness and More" filled with emotional depth. Thoughts simply stated often reveal more than superfluous words. I felt an awareness of the author's general state of consciousness when he wrote each poem, and they became more meaningful to me.