Mélio Tinga e Eduardo Quive
Inspired by the dilemmas of their daily lives in their native Maputo, writers Eduardo Quive and Mélio Tinga wrote ‘Mutiladas’ and ‘Nevoa na Sala’, respectively.
Both works address global problems such as war and poverty, starting from their own reality. This element was one of the most highlighted by essayists Sara Jona Laísse and António Cabrita, when they presented the books at the Franco-Mozambican Cultural Centre in the country's capital.
In a voice borrowed from Matteo Angius, Sara Jona Laisse, who is also a teacher, said that ‘Mutiladas’ presents tales that refer to misfortune, which is why the most resonant themes are misery, inequality and the pain of the world.
In her view, it ‘speaks of the need to resolve social dramas and questions our citizenship and actions as humans’. And he invites readers to reflect on the Mozambique of their time.
Meanwhile, Mélio Tinga talks about war and other subjects. War can be physical, sentimental or psychological. However, going into the obvious, he talks about the opposition between men, creating, for example, a character haunted by the ghosts of the men he executed.
It is, according to poet António Cabrita, about characters seeking redemption or ‘waiting to be exhumed or confirmed as dead’.
Reading the work, in his opinion, ‘there will be a temptation for the more distracted to read it as a flawed book’. It's a question of choices, not for those looking for moral lessons or anything like that. One of its great merits lies in the fact that it is an extremely lyrical work, capable of winning major prizes, such as the ‘Oceanos’, one of the most important in Lusophone literature. ‘The probability is very high,’ he said.
The books ‘Mutiladas’, by Eduardo Quive, and ‘Névoa na Casa’, by Mélio Tinga, are part of the prose fiction collection ‘Penugem Animal’, by Catalogus Autores, a platform founded by both authors to promote Mozambican literature.
(By Lucas Muaga)
