Quite
some
time
ago,
my
friend
and
neighbor
Yara
Souto
lent
me
the
original
text
of
the
thesis
for
the
PhD.
of
her
sister
Teresinha
Souto
Ward.
Presented
at
Stanford
University,
U.S.A.,
it
was
a
beautiful
and
wise
dissertation
that,
submitted
to
the
Spanish
and
Portuguese
Language
Department
and
the
Graduation
Committee,
in
September
of
1981,
was
worthy
of
approval
for
the
degree
of
a
doctorate
in
Philosophy,
one
of
the
most
acclaimed
PhDs.
in
the
entire
world.
It
is
an
interesting
piece
of
work
about
the
cultural
reality
of
our
region,
the
north
of
Minas
Gerais
state,
a
thesis
about
the
resonance
of
the
language
used
in
the
book
“Great
Sertão
Veredas”,
by
Guimarães
Rosa,
from
our
not
too
distant
neighbor
Cordisburgo,
near
to
the
Maquiné
limestone
cavern.
It
is
a
research
project
of
magnitude,
executed
by
a
“student’’
that
demonstrates
great
tenderness
for
her
homeland
and
its
people
throughout
her
work,
enveloped
in
constant
longing
for
the
much
suffered
hinterland
of
our
“Sertão”.
Guimarães
Rosa,
the
resonant
author
of
“Great
Sertão
Veredas”
and
more
than
half
a
dozen
other
notable
books,
has
many
impassioned
admirers
here
in
Montes
Claros,
and
among
them,
Luizinha
Barbosa,
Yvone
Silveira,
Zinda
Barcala
Jorge,
and
I,
who
am
writing
these
very
lines…and
even
stronger
than
this
admiration,
are
the
three
great
and
endless
passions
of
Júlio
Melo
Franco,
João
Carlos
Sobreira
and
João
Lúcio
da
Silva
for
the
work
of
Guimarães.
These
are
the
writer’s
three
most
impassioned
admirers.
Guimarães,
who
was
an
Ambassador
at
work,
and
a
cowboy
in
his
spare
time,
here
in
Minas
Gerais!
João
Guimarães
Rosa
had
an
aura
of
mysticism,
a
charismatic
enchantment
never
equaled
by
other
writers,
even
those
that
sometimes
speak
closer
to
our
hearts,
with
tender
words
describing
our
long
suffered
homeland.
Even
more
than
those
who
register,
with
the
authentic
courage
of
those
who
daily
live
out
our
joys
and
sadnesses
directly
with
our
soft
spoken
country
malice
and
hillbilly
ingenuity!
The
flavor
of
“Great
Sertão
Veredas”
is
spread
over
a
vast
geographical
area
of
the
parched
“sertão”
of
Montes
Claros
but
not
in
the
city
itself.
The
life
and
culture
of
this
dry,
isolated
northeast,
as
diversified
and
enriched
as
our
own
customs
permit
it
to
be,
became
the
stage
of
his
creation,
his
books,
placing
us
at
the
center
of
his
saga,
be
it
with
dramatic
nuances
or
lyrical
traditions.
If
Guimarães
Rosa
hadn’t
already
been
registered
as
a
son
of
Cordisburgo,
we
could
have
him
entirely
to
ourselves,
hailing
him
as
an
authentic
son
of
Montes
Claros.
Hearing
all
this,
Teresinha
Souto
Ward
promptly
stated
all
there
is
to
be
said
about
her
people
and
their
customs,
of
her
memories
and
her
life
here
in
Montes
Claros!
And
who
speaks
and
writes
in
this
manner,
speaks
as
a
Professor,
worthy
of
acclaim.
I
would
like
to
get
back
to
the
subject
once
again
and
comment
directly
on
the
text
of
Yara’s
dissertation,
sharing
along
with
my
readers
the
simple,
gratifying
contact
with
our
common
and
everyday
local
interests;
with
names
that
ring
with
the
sonority
of
our
country
people:
Carrim,
Preto,
Francim,
Durães,
Bindóia.
And
not
being
able
to
keep
from
mentioning
the
musicality
found
in
the
names
Manuelzinho
do
Juca,
João
do
Carrapicho
and
Folia
do
Bom
Jesus!
