"Whoever reads denaturalizes himself in some way, takes the leap, discredits the automatic, feels perplexity, curiosity, intrigue, then looks, searches, deciphers. (...) He searches for clues and when he finds them he has the audacity to build small cities of meaning, small universes that you inhabit for a while, without definitively taking root in them because you will have to keep reading.
The reader is agile and is always dissatisfied."
Searching for clues, building meanings by Graciela Montes published in Brazil by Selo Emília and Solisluna Editora, brings together 16 essays produced by the Argentine author who is one of the greatest references in reading studies in Latin America.
These are texts that express his critical thinking about extremely current issues, which permeate concepts of reading and childhood. In times of pandemic, Graciela's invitation becomes especially relevant:
“to experience time again – take time to read, go back, reread, savor a word, and even read aloud”.
In these texts you can follow the author's philosophical sophistication and come into contact with the main concepts that mark her thinking. The selection and editing of the texts was signed by Silvia Castrillón and was published in 2019 by the Colombian publisher Babel Libros.
The presentation of the Brazilian edition is by Stela Barbieri. In it, the Brazilian artist and educator highlights: “we live in ultravisibility in contemporary times, without time or space to slowly incubate the dream, to stay in the cave. In childhood, somehow, there is a willingness to experience rhythms, intensities and speeds in a very unique way. Graciela problematizes the repetition of analytical patterns and invites us to experiment with other ways of looking. It calls us to give way to what worries us, opening the way to be receptive, to the void, to wonder and strangeness, with the power to connect with the meanings of existence.”
Born in Buenos Aires, Graciela Montes is the author of more than 30 books for children. His literary production includes short stories, novels and essays. She was named Argentina's candidate for the Hans Christian Andersen Prize on three occasions. He won the Pregonero de Honor Award and obtained a diploma from the Konex Foundation. In 2018, he received the SM Ibero-American Prize for Children's and Young Adult Literature.
